Blood and Fire
by MiyukiWolfire
Summary: Hidan recruits a new servant of Jashin, but in the process, gets more than he bargained for. Hidan/OC
1. First Offering

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any related characters, nor do I make any money from the writing of this story. All I own is Aiko.

Author's Notes: I was challenged by a friend to write an Akatsuki/OC story, and I chose my favorite member, Hidan. I'm trying to make my OC as un-Mary-Sue-ish as possible, but if I fail, please don't kill me. I'm not asking for reviews (though they are always welcome), and _please_, no flames. Anyway, a little background history on Aiko, she has a kekkei genkai, and one of the side effects of it is permanent fangs, similar to Kiba's. The rest will be explained later.

Also, this story may get deleted due to um . . . _violence_, and that extremely coarse language we all know and love, but I'm going to try it anyway. (crosses fingers)

---

Aiko ran through the forest, hopping from branch to branch. Stopping to catch her breath, she suddenly dropped out of the tree, narrowly missing being struck by a large crimson triple-bladed scythe.

"Be still, dammit!" a voice echoed through the trees. She gritted her teeth. He was closer than she thought.

Catching sight of a figure only a few yards away, she slipped behind the tree and cast a genjutsu over herself, hoping it would be enough to hide her.

She closed her eyes as she heard footsteps approaching.

"Where are you, my little spitfire? You put up a hell of a fight, but it's time to end our little game. It's time you accepted your fate as Jashin-sama's sacrifice." He had been pursuing her for almost a day and a half now, and it was getting harder and harder to elude him.

Taking a deep breath, she quickly drew her sword and dropped the genjutsu. She had to move fast, before he could draw blood. Spinning around, she leapt out from behind the tree, to be met by a silver pike pointed at her throat. He had known where she was the whole time. He had set her up.

Hidan regarded her calmly with red-violet eyes. He wore a satisfied smile, which made her growl.

Stepping closer to her, but never lowering the pike, he grabbed the hand that held her sword, squeezing her wrist painfully. Dropping the blade, she bared her fangs, but didn't give him the satisfaction of seeing her wince.

He raised one eyebrow, looking her over. "Damn, you're a pretty one. Jashin-sama will be pleased with you." Taking another step closer, he backed her up against the tree. Tilting her chin up with his free left hand, he smiled slyly. "Or, I might just have to take you myself. What do you say?"

While becoming a sacrifice didn't appeal to her, she wasn't too keen on the other option either. She couldn't help noticing however, that he was very attractive. She felt her heartbeat quicken as she took in his scent.

He removed his pike from her neck, instead drawing it gently across her cheek. She hissed as she felt a thin trickle of blood run down her face.

Leaning forward, he slowly licked the trail of blood off her. Licking his lips, he grinned.

"I guess this is the part where you kill me, right?" she growled.

"Mm, let's make it your choice, shall we? You can become a sacrifice, or you can join me in serving Jashin-sama," he said. He shrank the pike back down and strapped it to his waist. But instead of letting her go, he grabbed her wrists and pinned her to the tree, so she was unable to move. "So what'll it be?"

"I'm not afraid to die, but I will _not_ become a sacrifice," she said at last, struggling to break free of his grip. He laughed slightly.

"So you'll serve," he said. She nodded once, almost imperceptibly. The next thing she knew, Hidan had captured her mouth in a heated kiss.

She was too startled to react at first, but after a moment, she narrowed her eyes and gave him a sharp bite. He jerked back with a hiss, releasing one of her wrists to cover his mouth.

"You bit me," he said, surprised. This girl was really something. He had made a good choice in letting her live.

"You kissed me," she retorted, her voice dripping venom.

He smirked and raised one eyebrow. "You mean you didn't like it? Hmm, guess I'll have to work on that."

Aiko snorted. "You've got some nerve, kissing someone you just met."

"You're a fellow servant of Jashin-sama. No one else in Akatsuki serves him. Starting now, you're my student. I'll teach you his ways, and how to serve him. In return . . ." he ran a single finger over the cut he had made on her cheek, "I'm going to make you my lover."

Her dark blue eyes widened and she swallowed hard, going still. As soon as she stopped struggling, he kissed her again. Her heartbeat increased as he pressed himself against her. She could feel the hard planes of his chest through her clothes, and the sensation set her blood on fire.

Bringing her arms up over her head, he held both her wrists in one hand, while the other trailed down to rest on her curve of her hip.

She opened her mouth to say something, but Hidan was faster. Slipping his tongue inside, he cut off any protestation she was about to make.

A part of her wanted to make him stop, but it was a very small part.

Finally, she managed to break the kiss. "We should get out of here," she said breathlessly.

"What, you don't like the woods?" he asked, releasing her wrists.

"Not for these kind of encounters," she told him. He smirked and turned away to retrieve his scythe from where it was embedded in the ground behind the tree. Strapping it to his back, he jerked his head towards the way they had come.

"Let's go, then," he said. Aiko bent down and picked up her sword, replacing it in the sheath on her back.

He led her deeper into the forest, coming at last to a staircase leading down to a set of double doors set into the ground. Opening the doors, he went inside, disappearing into the darkness.

She followed slowly. Inside was a stone corridor, lined with torches. Hidan began walking, and she stuck close to him.

"Is anyone else here?" she asked. She couldn't sense the presence of anyone else, but she had been wrong before.

"No. I'm the only one who knows about this place. Well, except for you," he replied.

Finally, they came to a door. He opened it and went inside. There was a bed in one corner, but what caught Aiko's attention were the dozens of weapons lining one of the walls.

"Wow," she breathed. "There are so many." She gazed around, taking in the many swords, daggers, pikes, spears, and many others, some she didn't even know the name of.

"As my partner, you'll be able to use these weapons," Hidan told her, pulling his scythe off his back, unhooking its cable from his waist, and propping it against the wall. Aiko also took off her sword, putting it with his scythe.

He went over to the bed and picked up a small box. Opening it, he withdrew a necklace. On it was the same pendant he wore: the symbol of Jashin.

Coming back to her, he slipped the chain over her head. "This is the proof of your devotion to Jashin-sama. Wear it proudly." She traced the symbol with one finger.

"It looks good on you," he said, watching her.

She looked up at him and smiled, for the first time. He returned the smile, and she saw his eyes ignite. He couldn't wait any longer, he had to have her. Now.

Wordlessly, he covered the remaining half-step between them and bent down to whisper in her ear. "Are you ready to become mine?"

She released her breath in a quiet sigh of longing.

Wrapping one arm around her waist, he pulled his necklace over his head and let it dangle between them for a moment. He then brought the pendant up to his mouth, and began to pray.

"Jashin-sama, I offer to you a new follower of your sacred teachings. Allow me to teach her your ways so that we may both serve you for eternity." He kissed the amulet and slipped it back around his neck. Unwrapping his arm from around her waist, he undid the final clasps that held his cloak together, and let the garment pool at his feet, leaving him bare-chested.

In one swift motion, he had spun Aiko around and backed her up against the wall.

Once more, her arms were raised above her and held there by his right hand. But this time, his left hand curled around the back of her thighs as he lifted her up. Her legs went around his waist as he pressed his hips against her to help keep her aloft.

He kissed her roughly, and she moaned into his mouth as she felt him begin to harden and press against her center. A wave of chill bumps washed over her as a sweet ache flooded through her body, concentrating in her lower abdomen.

Using just his hips to hold her up, his left hand moved sideways slightly, creeping up to caress the sensitive skin on the inside of her thigh.

A shiver went through her, and she wanted to wrap her arms around him, but when she tried to pull her wrists out of his hold, he only tightened his grip. Her heartbeat quickened as she felt his hand move a little closer to the place she so wanted it, _needed_ it.

Hidan broke the kiss and moved his mouth down to where her neck connected to her shoulder, just above the collar of her mesh shirt. Lightly kissing it once, he suddenly latched on, sucking viciously. She whimpered a little as he sank his teeth into her skin, deep enough to leave a mark, but not enough to break the skin.

Baring her fangs, she growled as she waited for the sting of the bite to recede.

She felt him remove his teeth and gently lick the wound, as if in apology.

Though she didn't know the details, she knew the servants of Jashin used pain and sacrifices as the basis of the religion, receiving immortality in return. Because of that, she reasoned being Hidan's lover probably meant getting a few bruises in the process.

Licking her lips, she decided to return the favor. While his head was still angled, she quickly bent down and sank her fangs into his shoulder, only biting down enough to draw a couple of droplets of blood.

Hidan hissed in surprise, pulling his shoulder away. "Dammit, what the hell was that for?" he asked, but she could tell he wasn't angry.

"Offerings to Jashin-sama," she told him. He smirked.

"You want to give him an offering, huh? I'll show you how it's done." Releasing her wrists, he wrapped the hand that previously held them around her waist, the other holding her under the thighs again. Pulling her away from the wall, he carried her over to the bed and set her down. She unwrapped her legs from around him, stretching out.

He knelt over her on her hands and knees. Bracing himself on one hand, he used the other to unzip the strapless blue overshirt she wore. Pulling it out from under her and tossing it aside, he ran his hand lightly across the thin material of the mesh shirt underneath.

Her eyes closed as he traced her collarbones, then ran his hand over the curve of her left breast. She arched her back slightly as he gently squeezed, then began rolling her nipple between two fingers.

Repositioning himself with a knee on either side of her legs, he let go of her breast, instead lifting her shirt up, then over her head.

He ran his hands over her sides, then bent down and captured her right breast in his mouth, his hand resuming its earlier motions on the other.

Aiko gasped as his teeth grazed over the sensitive flesh, but he was careful not to hurt her. He swirled his tongue around the peak, and she brought one hand up, gently twining her fingers through his silky hair.

After a moment, he released her, placing a kiss on her breastbone, which reflected how fast her heart was beating.

Opening her eyes, she watched as he trailed down, leaving a burning line of kisses down her stomach.

He pulled off her mesh shorts, then settled down on his side against her, propping his head up on one hand. With the other, he slowly untied the strings holding her black skirt closed, but left it wrapped around her. She swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry.

Aiko felt his hand rest on her knee, and her fingers tightened on the covers of the bed. Ever so slowly, his hand crept up the inside of her thigh. It was torture, having to wait so long.

Hidan watched her reactions carefully, his red-violet eyes narrowed slightly, the faintest smile gracing his lips.

Her hand clenched the blankets as he slowly slid one finger into her. Withdrawing, he plunged back inside, adding a second finger.

She gasped and arched her back as he built up a steady rhythm.

He sat up so he could see her better. "Look at me, Aiko. Don't close your eyes. You are going to give Jashin-sama your first offering now."

"How?" she whispered.

"I'm going to bring you to your peak, and when that happens, he will take it as an offering," he explained, never breaking his pace.

Nodding, she watched him as he pulled himself closer, then kissed her softly. She moaned as she felt his thumb brush over the sensitive bundle of nerves. He began massaging it gently, making her writhe beneath his touch.

He smiled a little as he felt her inner walls begin to ripple. She tilted her head back, gasping in pleasure as the tension in her body began to build.

Suddenly, the pressure exploded, and a wave of rapture broke over her, setting her body on fire.

Hidan didn't stop, prolonging the feeling for as long as possible.

All too soon, the feeling died away, leaving her breathless and weak.

He withdrew from her, licking his fingers clean. She tasted delicious. "You did good. Jashin-sama will be very pleased with your offering." He wrapped one arm around her shoulders and lifted her to him, kissing her again. His previous kisses had been rough, demanding, but this one was soft and loving.

Resting her head against his chest, she closed her eyes and listened to his heartbeat.

She could feel something happening to her. Because of her kekkei genkai, she could withstand greater injuries than most humans, and had a longer lifespan. But now, liquid fire rushed through her veins, and she began to tremble. Hidan held her closer as the change ripped through her body. It was painful, but wonderful at the same time.

"What is this?" she whispered.

"You're receiving your immortality. Jashin-sama has accepted your offering," he explained.

She opened her eyes as the sensation faded.

"We will give him one more offering, this time from the both of us," he said. Pulling away from her, he slid off the bed and undressed. Kneeling between her thighs, he unwrapped the skirt from around her waist.

He lifted her hips, and angled her just so. Locking eyes with her, he thrust inside, making her gasp at the sudden intrusion. After a moment, he began to move, establishing a smooth rhythm. Aiko ran her hands over his arms, tracing the curves of his muscles. Her nails bit into the skin of his shoulders and he leaned forward, capturing her mouth with his own. She opened her mouth for him when she felt his tongue trace her bottom lip. Slipping inside, he explored her mouth slowly.

She reached up with one hand and gently traced the beaded chain of his necklace, then stroked his silver hair softly.

She inhaled as she felt the familiar coil growing in her lower belly again. Hidan broke the kiss and cupped her cheek with one hand.

"Keep your eyes on me," he said quietly.

As the tension grew, her fangs began to ache. It was the instinctual urge to mark the one that would become her mate. That urge was an unfortunate side effect of harnessing a demonic wolf's power for her kekkei genkai.

"Hidan, I need. . ." she trailed off, feeling her fangs elongate a little. He narrowed his eyes slightly as he saw them change. He knew what was happening.

"Do it," he said. "Quickly."

Lifting her up slightly, he presented the juncture of his neck and shoulder to her.

"You must do the same to me," she told him, her voice muffled slightly as she pressed her lips against his skin.

Opening her mouth, she sank her fangs deep into his shoulder. Hot blood flooded her mouth.

"Fuck . . ." he breathed, exhaling harshly. Her bite hurt, but at the same time, felt exquisitely good. Usually, only the pain of the sacrificial rite caused him to feel this way, but the feeling of her needle-like fangs buried in his neck was causing the same feeling.

Suddenly, the pressure building in her erupted, and as it did, Hidan returned the bite viciously. It hurt like hell; he had to bite down hard to break the skin, but Aiko was too caught up in the waves of pleasure to care.

Licking the ruby droplets of blood off her pale shoulder, he watched as the wound healed over, leaving a silvery scar. Touching his own neck, he felt nothing but smooth skin. The bite she gave him had disappeared already. His immortality allowed him to heal much faster than normal humans, but for a wound to heal in only a matter of seconds . . .

He groaned as the rippling of her inner muscles caused him to reach his own climax.

Again, she felt the rush of fire race through her blood, and this time, he felt it too. Their offering was accepted. Apart from death, this was the one other thing Jashin would accept as an offering.

Slowly, he withdrew from her, settling down by her side. She rolled towards him, snuggling up against his chest. Putting one arm under his head as a pillow, he used his free hand to gently brush a lock of red hair off of her face.

"Tomorrow, I'll take you to meet Akatsuki's leader. He'll make you one of us," he told her, reaching down to cover them both up. She nodded, closing her eyes. She was exhausted, but content. A whole new life would begin for her tomorrow.

Smiling, she drifted off to sleep, one hand curled around the amulet Hidan wore.


	2. Ensuring Immortality

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Naruto universe, nor do I make any money from this story. All I own is Aiko.

---

Hidan awoke first, opening his eyes slowly. Propping himself up on one elbow, he gazed down at Aiko. She slept soundly, curled up against him, her head pillowed on her arms.

Carefully, he slid off the bed and got dressed. Going into an adjoining room, he walked over to a mirror and pushed the collar of his cloak aside to look at the mark she had given him. The scar was small, and curved into the shape of a crescent moon where her upper teeth had gone in. Touching it gently, he realized that it wasn't even sore.

Pulling his collar back up, he left the room to see Aiko sitting up, a blanket wrapped around her. He smiled slightly.

"Good morning," he told her, going to sit down on the edge of the bed.

"Morning? I slept for that long?" she asked, stifling a yawn.

"Yeah. How are you handling your immortality?" When he had first received his, he had felt strange for a few days afterward, until he gave Jashin his first sacrifice.

"I'm okay, just hungry," she told him, standing up and collecting her clothes. Dressing quickly, she stretched, rolling the tension out of her shoulders.

"We have to go soon. I need to take you to see Pein. I'm going to try and convince him to make you a member. While I'm teaching you Jashin-sama's ways, I'll need you close, and the best way to do that is for you to be my partner," he explained. "Pein's base is in Amegakure, so it'll take us a couple of days to get there. In the meantime, you need to make a sacrifice."

Hidan made his way over to the door, strapping his scythe to his back as he walked. Aiko followed slowly.

"How often will I have to sacrifice someone?" she asked, walking beside him as they left the hideout.

"It depends. For me, it's every week. To be safe, I'd say no longer than a month."

She nodded. "If you need to kill to retain your immortality, then what was last night for?"

He cast her a sideways glance. "While the best way is slaughter, Jashin-sama does accept . . . other offerings," he said, raising one eyebrow and grinning evilly at her. "Besides, you're my lover now, remember?"

She blushed slightly and her hand came up to touch the medallion around her neck. This was interesting situation she had gotten herself into.

---

A couple of hours later, they came to an inn. Hidan stopped and looked over at her. "Let's stop here for a while to eat. We have a long way to go before we get to Amegakure."

"Okay. I'm starving," Aiko replied.

Going inside, they sat down at a table and waited for their food.

Propping her head up on one hand, she gazed out the window, lost in thought. Absently, she twirled the chain of her necklace around one finger.

Hidan watched her. "Something bothering you?" he asked.

"Hm?" she said, looking over at him. "Oh, no, not really. I was just thinking about things."

A moment later, their food came. Aiko ate slowly, conscious of Hidan's gaze still on her. "I'm fine, really. Just feeling a little weird."

He nodded. "I thought so. You need to perform the ritual, then you'll feel better. After we leave, I'll find you someone and show you how. I haven't made my offering yet, so it'll be the perfect opportunity."

She was feeling strange; her body felt like it was on fire, and she was lightheaded.

As soon as they finished eating, Hidan helped her up and took her outside.

"We need to find someone soon. If not, you'll start getting weak." He reached into his cloak and pulled out a book. Flipping through it, he stopped about a fourth of the way through and scanned the page.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Finding a suitable target for the ritual. Usually it doesn't matter who, but Kakuzu's been bitching at me about bringing in a bounty, so I figured I might as well give him what he wants," he explained.

"Kakuzu?" she asked.

"My partner. I'm going to have to talk to Pein about that; if I'm going to teach you properly, Kakuzu is going to have to be someone else's partner." He snapped the book closed and replaced it back in his cloak.

"There's a little town a couple of miles from here with a bounty target. We'll take care of him. Maybe it'll be enough to get Kakuzu off my back. For a while, anyway."

"But if there's only one bounty there, what will I do?" Aiko asked, beginning to walk down the path in the direction of the village.

"There's bound to be someone else there we can use. Or, if you prefer, you can have the target, and I'll find someone else," he told her, to which she nodded.

"So why am I feeling like this? If I just received my immortality last night . . . Am I already losing it?" she asked, reaching up to touch the amulet.

"When you first become immortal, you have to perform the ritual twice: once to receive it, and once just after to retain it," he explained, looking over at her.

"Let's just get this over with," she said, staring ahead. The fire running through her veins had settled into her stomach, transforming into a growing ache.

"You'll be fine," he assured her. "All we need is to . . ." he trailed off, a wicked grin appearing. "We're being followed. What do you say I show you how to do the ritual now?" Turning around quickly, he unhooked the scythe from his back, sending it spinning off into the forest.

Aiko watched as a form detached itself from the shadows, leaping out of the way of the scythe.

It was a rogue ninja. Reaching into the pouch he wore, the ninja withdrew several kunai. Swiftly, he threw them at Aiko and Hidan.

Jumping out of the way, Aiko came to rest in the branches of a tree, out of range of the battle.

Hidan had his back turned, pulling his scythe back to him. The kunai struck him in the back and shoulder. As he turned around, the ninja lunged forward, unsheathing a small sword.

Completing the turn, he growled slightly as the sword sank into his body. A small line of blood trickled out of the corner of his mouth, and Aiko gasped. That sword had almost certainly pierced something vital.

Raising one eyebrow in annoyance, Hidan looked down at the puddle of blood that had formed beneath him. "You done yet?" he asked lazily.

The ninja took a step back in surprise. "What the hell . . .?" he said.

Without taking his eyes off the ninja, Hidan stepped in the blood and began drawing a circle with it. When he was finished, the blood formed an exact replica of Jashin's symbol, with Hidan standing in the center.

Gritting his teeth, he pulled the sword out of himself, tossing it aside. He stepped out of the circle and towards the ninja, who withdrew warily. Pulling the kunai out of his shoulder and back, he dropped one, wiping the blood off the other on his cloak.

Moving quickly, he leapt forward, plunging the kunai into the ninja's arm. Pulling back immediately, he backed into the circle again. Smirking, he licked the blood off the kunai.

Aiko watched in shock as Hidan's appearance began to change. His skin turned black and white bonelike markings appeared. He looked like death given physical form.

Pulling his necklace off, he began to pray. When he was finished, he put the necklace back on and pulled out a pike.

Chuckling quietly, he raised the pike high. He glanced over at Aiko. "I wish I could play longer, but I have other things I need to do. Die quickly, so that I may continue to serve Jashin-sama." With that, he brought the pike down, straight through his heart.

Aiko covered her mouth as Hidan dropped to his knees, coughing up blood.

The ninja stood there for a moment, then swayed. Like Hidan, he fell to his knees, then collapsed completely. Within seconds, his breathing had stopped.

Dropping out of the tree, Aiko rushed over to Hidan, who had resumed his normal appearance. She knelt down, holding her breath. Relief rushed through her as he looked over at her, wiping the blood from his mouth.

"Did you get all that?" he asked, his voice hoarse.

She nodded once. "Yeah, I got it." Without warning, she leaned forward, hugging him tightly.

"What's the matter? I'm immortal, remember?" he said, surprised at her actions.

She buried her face in his neck, inhaling his scent. "I know, but I was . . . I was still scared," she whispered.

He rested his hand on her back for a moment. "I'm fine, really." She pulled away and he stood up, removing the pike and shaking the blood off. Looking down at himself, he frowned a little.

"Let's look for a lake. I can't go into that village soaked in blood," he said, winding up the cable attached to his scythe and replacing it on his back.

"There's one just a few minutes from here, to the east," she said, nodding in the direction of the rising sun.

"How do you know?" he asked, shooting her a sideways glance.

"I can smell it," she told him, brushing a lock of hair out of her face. She turned and led the way through the trees.

Soon they came to the lake. It was fairly small, but clean. Hidan put down his scythe and unstrapped the cable and pikes from his waist. Without removing the cloak, he waded into the cold water.

Aiko sat down against the trunk of a nearby tree, her head bowed and her eyes closed.

Splashing water over himself, he turned to look at her. At first he thought she was asleep, until he saw her open her eyes slightly and sigh.

Rinsing the rest of the blood off himself, he walked back over to her. She stood up and smiled slightly.

Curiously, she pulled the collar of his cloak to one side. She was surprised to see that the wound made by the pike had already begun to heal over. Gently, she touched the wound, running her fingers over it lightly. "You heal almost as fast as I do," she mused, half to herself.

"Comes with the immortality," he told her.

She leaned forward and rested her forehead on his chest.

"We have to find your sacrifice," he said, reaching under her chin and tilting her face up to look at him. She had gone very pale.

"Come on." Collecting the rest of his weapons, he led her back to the road, then headed for the village.

---

It hadn't been hard to locate the bounty target. He was the richest man in the village, and had his house up on a ridge overlooking a river that ran behind it.

Hidan had been careful, taking them around the outskirts of the village instead of straight through it, as he didn't know if the villagers were aware of what Akatsuki was.

Now, he and Aiko were up in the branches of a tall tree growing near the house. The village was small, so the security of the village was lax. It would be a simple matter for them to sneak inside.

Hidan stood up, and in one motion, leapt from the branch onto the roof of the house. He turned to look at Aiko. "Come on."

She jumped onto the roof beside him, and he grabbed her arm to steady her.

"How do we get in?" she asked.

He looked around. The roof sloped slightly, and had two big windows set into it, serving as a type of skylight.

"Through those," he said, releasing her and walking over to examine the windows.

She knelt beside him and ran her hand lightly over the glass, tapping it with her nails. "It's thick. But I think I know of a way to get in." Standing back up, she unsheathed her sword. In one swift slash, she cut through the glass in a cross. "Now we just push." Bracing herself on her knees, she pressed down on the glass, and it came free. It fell to the floor of the house, shattering.

Hidan dropped down inside. "Let's go, he'll have heard that."

Aiko jumped down beside him. She froze when she heard footsteps.

"Who's there?" a voice called out. They turned to see a man standing in the hallway, several feet from them.

"That's him," Aiko said, putting her sword back in its sheath.

"Remember what you saw. You can do this," Hidan said, resting one hand on her shoulder.

"Who are you?" asked the man.

Taking a deep breath, Aiko stepped forward, pulling off her necklace. Bringing it up to her mouth, she began to pray quietly. "Jashin-sama, please accept this sacrifice, so that I may continue to serve you." Kissing the amulet, she replaced it around her neck.

"I am the one who will end your life," she said, gazing coldly at him.

The man reached into a bag at his waist. "I doubt that."

Aiko lunged forward, invoking part of her kekkei genkai. Her fangs elongated, and she sank them into the man's shoulder.

Swallowing some of the blood that filled her mouth, she grimaced. That would take some getting used to.

The man yelled in pain and withdrew a small dagger from the pouch. He drove it deep into her shoulder, and shoved her backwards, leaping behind a wall as he did so.

Ripping the dagger from her shoulder, Aiko's eyes widened. There was an explosive tag wrapped around it. She tossed it away from her, then turned to look at Hidan. "Go, get behind something. I'll be all right."

He jumped away, just as the tag exploded.

The blast enveloped Aiko, knocking her to the ground.

As the smoke cleared away, Hidan peered around the corner, apprehensive about what he would see. His eyes narrowed. "What the hell?"

A figure stood in the center, of the hallway. It was Aiko, but her appearance had changed. She now had blazing golden eyes, but what shocked him the most were the red wolf ears and tail that had appeared. A breeze whipped around her, fanning the knee-high black flames that swirled around her. Blood streamed from the wound in her shoulder.

"Kekkei genkai, full form," she said, her voice dangerously quiet. Stepping into the blood that had collected on the floor, she began drawing Jashin's symbol.

She unsheathed her sword, and drew it carefully down the inside of her arm. She heard a gasp from the man.

The ritual was almost complete. They had been connected to each other. All that remained was the final blow.

Holding her breath, Aiko positioned the sword directly over her heart. In one swift motion, she drove the blade deep into her body. The man screamed as his blood soaked the ground beneath him.

She gasped as the pain radiated through her body, but it was soon replaced by the fire of the immortality renewing itself.

Removing the sword, she dropped to one knee, feeling the wounds already beginning to close. She closed her eyes, reverting back to her normal human appearance.

She opened her eyes as she heard Hidan approaching. He put a hand on her arm, gently pulling her up.

"Perfectly done," he told her, pulling her to him and kissing her. Breaking away after a moment, he went over to the man and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, throwing him over one shoulder.

"Come on. Let's find somewhere to turn him in." Leaping back up onto the roof, he turned to wait for Aiko.

She joined him a moment later. The color had returned to her face, and she smiled at him. Her strength had come back, and she felt better than she could ever remember feeling.

"What exactly was that in there?" he asked, leaping off the roof and heading into the woods.

She followed, coming up beside him. "My family has a kekkei genkai. It takes the power of wolves, and merges it with our blood. The result is a heightened sense of hearing and smell, plus wolf ears, a tail, golden eyes, and fangs. The black flames are just something extra, exclusive to our family," she explained, looking down at herself. "Now _I'm_ the one that needs a bath." The front of her shirt was soaked in blood, as well as her left arm where the dagger had struck her. "The ritual doesn't leave scars, does it?"

Hidan stopped and turned to look at her. Pulling open his cloak, he showed her his chest. There was no trace of a scar, despite the many sacrifices he had made.

She raised her eyebrows. "I guess that would be a no."

"The injuries inflicted while performing the ritual heal with no scars, no matter how bad the wounds. But other wounds, while they do begin healing almost immediately, will leave marks, though they'll be smaller than normal." He touched the mating mark on his shoulder absently. "We'll use that lake from before to get you cleaned up, then go to the nearest collection office. After that, we'll go see Pein."

---

Aiko stepped into the icy water, shivering. She turned to look at Hidan, who was lounging in the branches of a tree. His hands were behind his head, one leg propped up on the branch, the other hanging down, swinging slightly.

"You could have warned me about it being so cold," she said, slowly stepping in up to her waist, her arms wrapped around herself, trying to keep warm.

He grinned, looking down at her. "You didn't ask. It's not that cold, is it?"

She snorted and turned her back on him. Taking a few more steps in, she began splashing water over herself, washing off the blood.

After she was clean, she waded back out, wringing the excess water from her hair and shivering slightly.

Hidan dropped out of the tree. Looking at her for a moment, he unbuttoned his cloak and handed it to her. "Here. This'll keep you warm until your clothes dry," he said.

She blinked in surprise. "Thank you." Taking the cloak from him, she unzipped her overshirt and skirt, leaving her clad only in the mesh underneath. They were thin, and would dry quickly.

Sliding the cloak on, she buttoned it up, leaving only the collar open. It was still warm, and she smiled as she inhaled the scent that clung to it. The scent was still his, but underneath it, she could detect her own.

Picking up the bounty target, he looked around. "Come on, there should be a collection office near here. The sooner we turn him in, the sooner we can get going."

They walked through the forest silently. Finally, Hidan broke the silence.

"I'm surprised you did so well for your first sacrifice. The pain alone is usually enough to deter most followers from continuing their service."

She looked over at him. "Because of my kekkei genkai, I have a high tolerance for pain. I don't like it, but I can deal with more than most people," she explained. Looking into the woods, she stopped, her head tilted slightly to one side.

Following her gaze, Hidan saw an old house tucked beneath several large trees. "That's it. The collection office." Changing course, he headed for it.

"But it looks like it's about to fall down," she said, following cautiously, her eyes narrowed.

"They're always disguised, so only those who know what they are can find them. It keeps unwanted attention away," he told her.

Carefully going up the stairs, he knocked on the door. Slowly, it swung open. He looked around.

"Show yourself. I know you're in here," he called into the gloom.

A figure stepped out of the shadows in the back. "How'd you find us?" Stepping forward, the man's eyes widened. "Hidan, I didn't recognize you for a minute without Kakuzu."

"Yeah, yeah, cut the small talk, I'm in a hurry," Hidan said, waving his hand irritably.

"Ah, right, sorry about that. So, who have you brought?"

Pulling the body off his shoulder, Hidan put it down on a table in the center of the room.

The man bent over the table, examining the body. "All right, that's one of our bounties. 100,000 ryo." Turning, he went into a back room and returned a moment later with a case. He opened it, showing them the money. "Here you are."

Hidan took the case, then turned to go. "Come on, let's get out of here. Pein's waiting."

The man bowed to them as they left, watching Aiko curiously. He hadn't heard of Akatsuki gaining a new member, nor of anyone being killed or leaving. So who was she, and where was Kakuzu?

Once they were out of sight of the house, Aiko stopped and unbuttoned Hidan's cloak. She took it off and handed it back to him, pulling on the rest of her own clothes. They were still slightly damp, but they would dry soon.

He took the cloak and put it back on, only buttoning two of the clasps in the middle, as was his custom.

"Well, it's time to go see Pein. Besides, I have to give this money to Kakuzu. We'll stop at the base on the way to Amegakure. He should be there." He paused for a minute. "Come to think of it, it'll be a good opportunity to introduce you to the other Akatsuki members. I don't know how many will actually be there, but . . . "

She nodded, and they began heading towards the Land of Fire's northern border, straight for Amegakure and Akatsuki's base.


	3. The Base and To Amegakure

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Naruto universe, nor do I make any money from this story. All I own is Aiko.

---

After several hours, they came to the border of the Land of Water. Hidan looked around, then turned to the west.

"What are you doing?" Aiko asked, looking at him curiously.

"We're too far to the east. There should be a cliff somewhere nearby. The base is inside," he explained.

She blinked once, then followed.

Studying the landscape carefully, he soon led her to the base of the cliff. Putting a hand on the earth, he muttered something, and with a shudder, an opening appeared.

"This is our main base. Come on." He vanished into the darkness.

The inside was nothing like she had expected. A large anteroom, ringed with torches, branched off into ten corridors, resembling the spokes of a wheel.

Hidan started down the third one on the left. Going to the first door, he pounded on it loudly. "Kakuzu, open up!"

The door opened slowly. Behind it was a tall man with dark skin and glowing green eyes. His face was mainly obscured by a black mask, so Aiko couldn't tell much else about him.

"It's about time, Hidan. I was about to come hunt you down myself." Kakuzu's voice was deep, and slightly irritated. "You were supposed to be gone only three days. It's been a week."

"Yeah, well, I had a hard time catching Jashin-sama's sacrifice," Hidan said, handing the case of money to Kakuzu. "It's 100,000 ryo."

"A hard time catching the sacrifice, huh? Apparently you didn't catch her at all. She's standing right behind you."

Aiko stiffened as Kakuzu rested his eerie fluorescent eyes on her. Something about him sent a chill down her spine. He was dangerous.

"She's not Jashin-sama's sacrifice. She's his new servant," Hidan snapped.

"So you've started turning sacrifices into followers. You should be killed for that." Kakuzu turned and closed the door in Hidan's face.

"Fuck you, Kakuzu! I brought you the money like I promised, didn't I? Who the hell cares what I did with the sacrifice!" he shouted at the door. There was no reply from within.

Aiko watched the exchange with some amusement. For partners, they sure didn't get along.

"Ah, Hidan, I thought I heard your voice. What are you yelling about now?" a cool voice said.

They turned to see a hunched figure staring at them. Like Kakuzu, his face was hidden by a mask, but that was the only resemblance they shared. This creature - it could hardly be called human - was only a little over three feet tall, and had his arms and legs covered by the Akatsuki cloak.

"Sasori. This is a surprise. You're not usually so sociable," Hidan said, crossing his arms.

"You were being so loud I had to come and see what was going on. Now, answer me. You're keeping me waiting, and I hate to wait." Sasori took a step forward, and Aiko could hear an odd rattling sound as he moved. Just what was he?

"Nothing really. Kakuzu was just bitching at me again, that's all," Hidan said, watching Sasori out of the corner of his eye.

"You should really try to get along with him. You two are the only ones that fight so much," Sasori told him.

Hidan developed a slight twitch in his temple at these words. "If Kakuzu would just lay off a little, I wouldn't have a problem with him," he grumbled.

"So I see you weren't able to use that girl as a sacrifice," Sasori commented, his eyes settling on the amulet Aiko wore.

"She agreed to serve Jashin-sama. We need more followers," Hidan replied.

"It's odd, though. You actually predetermined that she would be your target. It's almost unheard of for you to do that. Usually you sacrifice whoever you come across. What's more, it took you a week to track her down, and you weren't able to kill her."

"What's gotten into you, Sasori? You're not usually so talkative," Hidan asked, raising one eyebrow.

Sasori's eyes narrowed slightly, but he didn't respond. Turning around, he shuffled off, heading towards his own hall.

"Come on, let's go. Do you want to rest a little, or should we head on to see Pein?" Hidan looked over at Aiko.

"I'm fine, we can keep going," she told him.

He looked around. "If Sasori's here, then Deidara is too. I'll introduce you to him, then, if no one else is here, we'll go." He led her back to the anteroom, then down the last hall on the right. Coming to the fourth door, he knocked twice.

The door swung open, revealing a young man with long blonde hair. His left eye was covered by his bangs, but his right eye was a light icy blue. Unlike Kakuzu and Sasori, he wasn't wearing the black cloak, but a blue sleeveless shirt with fishnets at the top and bottom.

"I thought I heard you. Kakuzu's been threatening to come after you since-" Deidara trailed off, his gaze landing on Aiko. His one visible eyebrow shot up and he smiled craftily at Hidan. "Now I get it. This is the reason you were late, un."

Hidan closed his eyes for a moment, trying to rein in his temper. "This is Aiko. I'm going to ask Pein to make her one of us so she can learn Jashin-sama's teachings.

Deidara chuckled lightly, then learned forward a little as he caught sight of the scar on Hidan's neck. "What is that? You didn't have that before you left, un."

"It's nothing. I had a little trouble convincing Aiko to join us, that's all," Hidan told him, shifting slightly so the scar was covered by the headband he wore around his neck.

Deidara looked unconvinced, but didn't question him further.

"Is anyone else here?" Hidan asked. Deidara shook his head.

"Itachi and Kisame are off on a mission, and Zetsu is with Pein and Konan, un."

"Guess we'll have to wait for Itachi and Kisame. Maybe they'll be back by the time we come back from Amegakure," Hidan said, looking over at Aiko, who nodded.

He turned away from Deidara, "Come on, then. Let's get going," he told Aiko.

"Well goodbye to you too, un," grumbled Deidara, closing the door.

---

Once outside, Hidan stretched, rolling the tension out of his shoulders. "Damn, dealing with them always gives me a headache," he groused.

Aiko smiled slightly. "So, do you really think Pein will let me join?" she asked.

He looked over at her. "Yes, he will. Akatsuki is made of the highest-ranked ninja in the land. And like Sasori said, you managed to elude me for five days. No one's ever done that before. You also have a kekkei genkai, which makes you a perfect candidate to join us."

"That reminds me. Sasori also said that the decision to use me as a sacrifice was made before you even met me. You also knew my name. How?"

As they talked, they had come to a road leading straight through the Land of Water. If they followed it, it would eventually lead them to Amegakure.

"The truth is . . . you also have a bounty on you. I originally intended to give your bounty to Kakuzu. Because of your kekkei genkai, the bounty was higher than most. But when I finally caught you, I changed my mind." He sighed slightly, watching her out of the corner of one eye.

She was silent for a moment. "Why did you change your mind?"

Hidan shrugged. "I don't know. Something just told me to let you live."

He expected her to be angry, but she merely nodded once and kept walking.

_'Damn Sasori. She wasn't supposed to find out about that,'_ he thought.

"Hey, if you join up with Akatsuki, what's going to happen in your village?"

Aiko sighed. "I'm not part of a village anymore. A couple of months ago, I left. I'm not a missing-nin, but I'm not a part of my village either."

"Why did you leave?" he asked.

She narrowed her eyes and clenched her teeth. "To find someone. Just before I left, my brother was killed by his teammate. I'm going to find that bastard and kill him," she said, her voice little more than a growl.

Hidan grinned wickedly. "That sounds like fun. Are you going to turn him into a sacrifice?"

She stopped walking and looked over at him. "Yes. I think I will. Since I'm immortal now, I can take my time killing him. I don't like pain, to tell the truth, but if it means getting my revenge on him . . ."

He couldn't help but chuckle at this. He was starting to influence her. He liked taking his time with the sacrifices, letting them feel as much pain as possible before killing them. Because of her personality, he knew she would be the type to kill her victims swiftly. He would have to teach her how to relish the pain; how to turn it into pleasure. And what better way than by helping her exact revenge? It would be the perfect opportunity.

A thought struck her. "I noticed that your appearance changed when you did your sacrifice. Why did I not change when I did mine?"

"Because you hadn't completely received your immortality yet. The next time you do the ritual, you will transform," he explained. "You had enough immortality to ensure that you didn't die from the final blow, but not enough to invoke the other form."

"So I essentially become a grim reaper," she mused. "I like the sound of that."

---

As the sun began to sink, Aiko turned to look at Hidan. "Were are we going to sleep tonight?"

"We can get an inn if you want. When I'm on a mission with Kakuzu, he usually makes us stay in the woods so he doesn't have to pay," he told her, looking up to watch the sun sink behind the tops of the trees.

"I don't mind staying in the forest. Truthfully, I actually like it. I guess it's one of the side effects of the kekkei genkai." She smiled in amusement. Though she loved the power, it came with some unusual baggage.

"Are you sure? It's going to be pretty cold tonight."

She snorted and brushed past him. "I may be a girl, but I'm not some pampered princess. I've slept outside dozens of times on missions, even once during a snowstorm. I can handle it."

He couldn't help but grin at this. She certainly was different than any other female he had ever known. Even Konan preferred to stay in an inn when she could, but that may have been due to the fact that rain made her origami useless.

"If you're sure, then. There should be some caves nearby; I remember seeing them when Pein was bringing me to the hideout."

As they searched for the caves, the moon rose. It wasn't quite full, but enough to cast a sufficient light through the forest.

Aiko turned to look at it. She had always loved the moon. Closing her eyes, she stood in a puddle of its argent light. She could feel strength returning to her.

"What are you doing?" Hidan asked, noticing she wasn't behind him anymore.

"The moon has always been able to restore some of my energy," she explained, opening her eyes to look at him.

He looked closer. Her eyes had turned to the same molten gold as when she invoked her kekkei genkai, and he could see the ghostly outline of her ears and tail, though they weren't actually visible. "Moonlight shows your true form," he whispered, glancing up at the glowing orb.

She nodded. "Only when it's close to being full, though." Stepping out of the light, the ears and tail disappeared, and her eyes faded back to their normal color.

Hidan felt a wave of heat roll over him, making his mouth go dry. He went over to her and kissed her shoulder.

"What are you doing?" she asked quietly as one arm went around her waist.

His mouth moved to her neck, the other hand pulling the collar of her mesh shirt aside. He smirked as he felt her heartbeat speed up. "You know what I'm doing," he mumbled.

"But . . . here? Shouldn't we at least find a cave?" she asked, her breath threatening to leave her as he began to suck on her pulse point.

She thought he would continue what he was doing, but to her relief - and subsequent disappointment - he pulled away.

"All right. Come on."

A few minutes of searching brought them to the caves. Three were too small to be used comfortably, but the fourth one was large enough for Aiko to stand up in, though Hidan had to bend forward slightly.

Aiko began gathering firewood, and Hidan took off his cloak, spreading it out to serve as a bed for them.

Arranging some of the wood into a small cone, Aiko used several hand seals to call forth a small ball of flame. She held it in the palm of her hand for a moment before placing it on the wood. Soon the flames sprang up into a good-sized fire.

"So you're a fire user too. Itachi is the only one who uses fire as his primary chakra type," he said, leaning back against the wall and stretching one leg out in front of him.

Once she was sure the fire wouldn't go out, she backed away from it and went to sit down beside Hidan.

Before she could actually sit down though, she felt hands grab her waist, and with a startled yelp, she was pulled down right into his lap. He was sitting cross-legged, her own legs resting over his thigh. His right arm was around her back, his left across her lap, effectively holding her in place.

She blushed furiously at being this close to him.

He smirked. "Don't tell me you're embarrassed. You've already become mine, you shouldn't be blushing any more." His right hand rubbed lightly over her ribs, making her squirm.

"Not ticklish, are you?" Holding her tightly again, he used his left hand to unzip her overshirt.

"Why . . . ?" She didn't get to finish her sentence as he leaned forward and kissed her.

He held it only a minute before pulling away. "Because once we're back at the base, we won't have much time to ourselves, so I'm taking advantage of tonight," he told her.

Hidan then shifted positions, stretching his legs out and moving Aiko so that she was straddling him.

Resting one hand on her hip, he used the other to lightly trace the symbol on her necklace. His blood was on fire, and he wanted nothing more than to take her right then, but he restrained himself. Tonight he would take it slow; torture her until she was begging him.

The hand that was on her waist moved behind her, lifting up the hem of her mesh shirt and slipping under it. Lightly, he used one finger to stroke a path up and down her spine.

His touch sent a chill through her, and, despite the warm fire at her back, Aiko shivered.

Pulling her closer, he moved the collar of her shirt over again and kissed the silvery mark on her shoulder. It was identical to his, but a little bit bigger.

She reached around behind his neck and untied his headband, tossing it aside. Leaning forward, she kissed his throat, running her fangs lightly over his pulse point, being careful not to break the skin. When she got to his shoulder, she bit down ever so slightly, making an indention in his skin, but not drawing blood.

Hidan closed his eyes as he felt the sting, expecting her to bite down harder, but she never did.

Pulling away, he switched positions once more. Using her overshirt, he folded it into a makeshift pillow and lay her down, her head propped up against the wall.

Kneeling over her, he did a double take when he caught sight of her eyes. They were strange; shifting colors constantly in the firelight, going between blue and a blazing greenish-gold. "Your eyes-"

"They do that sometimes," she told him. "In the right light, they shine a different color, like a wolf's eyes caught in firelight. It freaks a lot of people out, actually." Her eyes flicked to the entrance of the cave as a bolt of lightning lit up the darkness. A moment later, a rumble of thunder followed, and she heard the hiss of rain as it began to fall.

"A storm. The sky was clear when the sun went down," she said.

Hidan leaned forward to kiss her neck. "This is the Land of Water. Storms happen all the time here with no warning. Just ignore it."

Her eyes closed as he began to suck gently on her neck, tracing patterns with his tongue.

Aiko's breath hitched in her throat when she felt one hand slide under her shirt and run lightly over one breast. His thumb brushed over the peak and she bit back a moan.

Pulling away from her neck, he slid her mesh shorts off. He raised her shirt up over her ribcage, but didn't remove it completely.

He began placing kisses on her stomach, trailing slowly down. Using only his teeth, he untied the strings on her skirt.

Unwrapping it, he ran one hand lightly down her thigh. Her breathing was heavy, and he could tell the anticipation was making her restless.

Hidan moved down a little more and kissed her leg, just above the knee. She squirmed as he moved slowly up her leg, stopping just inches away from her center.

He looked up at her, smirking. "You want this, don't you?" he said, watching her carefully.

"Please . . ." she whispered. Her back arched suddenly as he slid two fingers into her, using his other hand to force her back down. Thrusting into her, he found the small nub and licked it gently, causing her fingers to dig into the cloak beneath her.

Swirling his tongue around it, he began to suck, being very careful not to use too much pressure.

After a short amount of time, he felt her inner walls begin to clench, and climax washed over her.

Sitting up and withdrawing, he licked his lips and smiled. "Tomorrow, if we leave early, we can make it to Amegakure by early afternoon." Leaning forward, he kissed her. "We'll go back to the base and rest for a couple of days, then we'll track down your brother's teammate," he said.

"I don't know where he might be, though," Aiko said, running one finger down Hidan's arm.

"I'll find him. I promise," he told her. She sat up and retied her skirt. Arching one eyebrow, she reached out and pushed him against the wall. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"My turn," she whispered, kissing his neck. Straddling him, she trailed one finger down the center of his chest.

Moving down, she undressed him completely, bracing herself above him on her knees.

His hands came up to rest on her waist, and she allowed him to lower her down until he was seated fully inside of her.

She began to move, closing her eyes and sighing.

She put her hands on his shoulders, and he felt her fingers bite into his skin. Leaning forward, he captured her mouth in a kiss, flicking her lip with his tongue.

Aiko opened her mouth for him, and he slipped inside. After a moment, she forced him out of her mouth, and he growled and fought back. She giggled, allowing him back in.

The pressure in her stomach began building and she leaned into him. When the coil finally exploded, she broke the kiss, arching her back.

When Hidan found his release a moment later, he held her to him tightly, listening to her breathing slow.

Standing up, they dressed, and Aiko sat back down against the wall. Sitting down next to her, he reached out and picked up her amulet, running his thumb over it.

She snuggled up next to him and he put his arm around her to ward off the chill of the night.

Soon, the sound of the storm had lulled them to sleep.


	4. Pein

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Naruto universe, nor do I make any money from this story. All I own are Aiko, Kai, Kaname and Ryuuko.

---

The next morning, Hidan awoke to an empty cave. He sat up, looking around. It was barely past dawn, and the storm had passed. But where was Aiko?

He picked up his cloak and shook the dust off, putting it on. Collecting his scythe from where it rested against the wall, he strapped it to his back and stepped out into the dawn light.

Looking around, he saw a trail cutting through the ankle-high grass. The trail led to a stream. Aiko stood in the middle, up to her waist in the slowly flowing water. She had her back to him, but he could see she was unclothed; her skin had turned very pale because of the cold water, and her movements were stiff, telling him that she hadn't been in the water long enough to get accustomed to the temperature.

"You'll catch a cold," he said, coming up to the edge of the water.

Aiko turned around, crossing her arms over her chest and ducking down. "Hidan! Don't sneak up on me like that, you scared me. I wasn't expecting you to be up so early."

He smirked a little, watching her shiver. Her shoulder length red hair had darkened in the water, turning almost black.

"What's so funny?" she demanded, raising one eyebrow.

"You're standing there freezing, but you won't get out," he told her, leaning against a tree with his arms crossed.

"I'll get out in a minute," she said, turning her back to him again, but not revealing any more than her shoulders.

"We have to get going if we want to make it to Pein's base by this afternoon," he responded, trying to entice her out of the water.

She turned her head and made a face at him. "If you'd go, I would get out. I don't like people watching me while I bathe." She flapped her hand at him, trying to shoo him away.

"Don't make me come and get you," he threatened, grinning wickedly.

Aiko stiffened and narrowed her eyes at him. "You wouldn't dare," she hissed.

When Hidan reached to remove his scythe, she stood up, panicked. "Okay, okay, you win, I'm getting out!" The last thing she wanted was for him to come in after her. The cold water had slowed down her reflexes, so she wouldn't be able to escape, and she recalled from the day before that he didn't seem to be affected by cold water, damn him.

Grudgingly, she made her way out of the stream to collect her clothes. Pulling them on, she cast a look over at Hidan. He had left his previous spot by the tree and was now standing knee-deep in the water, holding one of his pikes.

It took her a moment to realize what he was doing. "Fish for breakfast, eh?" She didn't really like fish, but she was starving. They had eaten only once the day before, and, though she hadn't been hungry for the rest of the day, the moment she woke up, her stomach reminded her loudly that it was empty.

Reaching for the bag she always wore at her hip, she unzipped it, peering inside. She had a small bottle of food pills, but she didn't like to use them unless she had no other choice. Her eyebrows knit together as she caught sight of a corner of folded black fabric. It was her headband. She didn't wear it anymore, but still kept it with her at all times.

Taking it out of the pouch, she unwrapped it, gazing down blankly at the symbol etched into the metal: Kumogakure.

"You'll be our first representative from Kumogakure," Hidan said, coming up behind her. Skewered on the pike were four fish. Aiko turned to look at him, folding up the headband and replacing it carefully in the pouch.

"I know," she said, buckling the pouch to her waist and grabbing her sword.

"I guess your village taught you all about Akatsuki, huh?" he asked, heading back in the direction of the cave.

She walked beside him, wringing the water out of her hair. "Yeah. It's ironic, in a way. I leave the village to find the one that killed my brother, and I wind up joining the most dangerous group of ninja in the land, becoming immortal, and finding a lover." She laughed and shook her head. "I never imagined any of this would happen."

Once they were back at the cave, Aiko restarted the fire and set the fish to cooking.

She leaned against the wall, her knees drawn up to her chest, trying to warm up.

Within a few minutes, the cave was filled with the smell of roasting fish. Hidan chuckled as Aiko's stomach growled.

"Hungry, huh?" he asked, reaching out and tugging on a lock of her still-damp hair.

She laughed a little in embarrassment. "Is it that obvious?"

Picking up one of the skewers, he handed it to her, taking a second for himself.

She blew on the fish, testing it with her fingertips before beginning to eat.

They finished eating quickly, and Aiko put out the fire.

"Ready?" Hidan asked, picking up his scythe and heading outside. She nodded, and he led her back to the road.

---

The walk to Amegakure was uneventful, save for a light shower that started up just as they reached the city limits.

Aiko glared up at the sky. "I could learn to hate this place," she growled, brushing her dripping bangs out of her face.

This elicited a chuckle from Hidan. "There's a rumor going around that Pein controls the weather here. A lot of the villagers actually look up to him as a sort of god." He raised one eyebrow and frowned a little at that, and she could tell that little fact annoyed him more than he let on. "If you have any complaints, take it up with him."

"Oh no, I don't think so. I'm not getting myself killed because of a little rain," she said, shaking her head, both as a negative to the suggestion, and to get the water out of her eyes.

"You're immortal. Nothing Pein does can kill you."

"Still, I'd rather not take that chance. Being immortal doesn't mean that I'm immune to pain. Besides, do you really think it's wise to piss off your leader?" She cast him a sideways glance, watching his eyes narrow slightly.

"What the hell do I care if he gets mad or not? I have a right to my own opinion, despite what some people think, and if he wants to get pissy over what I say, more power to him." Hidan crossed his arms, and Aiko arched one eyebrow. That was the longest rant she had ever heard from him, and she had to fight back the urge to laugh. Instead, she looked around.

The city itself was quite large, though gloomy-looking. The buildings were all dark and drab, but one caught her attention immediately. In the center of the city stood a tower that loomed over the rest of the buildings. But it wasn't just the height that drew Aiko's gaze; it was the shape. It was made of thousands of sheets of metal bolted together in a seemingly haphazard way. At the top she could see an opening, with a walkway leading out. It reminded her oddly of a mouth with its tongue extended. She thought she could make out a figure seated on the tip of the walkway, but because of the haze of the rain, she couldn't be sure.

"That tower is Pein's base," Hidan said, breaking Aiko out of her thoughts.

"Isn't it a little too . . . obvious to be a base?" she questioned, regarding the other buildings around her. None even came close to rivaling the height or appearance of that tower. "Shouldn't a base be a little more discreet?"

"In any other circumstance, yes, but they think he's a god, remember? Besides, anyone who gets near that tower has a habit of disappearing," he explained as they drew closer to the odd building. "I doubt he has much trouble with unwanted visitors."

The rain eased up as they approached the tower. Hidan reached for the door handle, and it opened easily. Aiko stepped inside, gazing around. To her surprise, it was hollow, with a spiral staircase leading up. At the top, there did seem to be a separate floor, which she guessed was where Pein stayed.

Aiko's attention suddenly snapped back to the ground in the middle of the tower. As she watched, a pair of gigantic leaves materialized out of the floor. The leaves were followed by the Akatsuki cloak. When the leaves parted slightly, Aiko's eyes widened. It was a _person_. She could only see the head and shoulders, but those were strange enough. The person had golden eyes, but what was most shocking was the skin color. The right half was pitch black, while the left half was white. It - he? - had short green hair, but that was all she could tell about him.

"Pein's been expecting you. Sasori let us know you were coming," he said, or rather, the white half said.

Hidan looked over at Aiko. "This is Zetsu. He acts as our spy, and cleans up after our missions," he explained.

Aiko could only nod dumbly. She had thought Sasori's appearance was odd, but he was nothing compared to Zetsu. The leaves around him looked like a venus flytrap, and she had noticed that his teeth looked very sharp. Unlike her, all his teeth were pointed, and Aiko had to wonder what exactly Hidan meant by "cleans up after missions". She had an odd feeling she didn't want to know.

"Let's go," the black half said, and Zetsu started up the stairs. She noticed that the two halves spoke slightly differently.

Aiko let Hidan go first, wanting to keep as much distance as possible between Zetsu and herself.

At the top of the stairs was a small hallway with a door at the end.

Knocking, Zetsu opened the door and led them into a circular room. It was the one that Aiko had seen from outside, and there _had_ been someone sitting on the walkway outside. That person stood up when they entered, and came back into the room.

Aiko vaguely noticed that he wasn't wet from the rain, and assumed there must be an overhang that had kept him dry. He was tall, and had spiky orange hair. He also sported several piercings on his face, but what captured her gaze were his eyes. They were the strangest she had ever seen; a constantly swirling silver. She stared at them, half hypnotized.

Hidan nudged her gently in the arm, and the spell was broken. She looked over at him.

"This is Pein, our leader," he told her.

Aiko straightened and bowed to Pein. "It's an honor to meet you," she said.

Pein raised one eyebrow. "Well, at least _she_ has manners. I half expected a servant of Jashin to be as crude as you are, Hidan."

Aiko could almost feel the temperature in the room drop as Hidan took a step forward. Her arm came out to stop his advance and she straightened from the bow, ready to grab him if she needed to. He growled, but didn't say anything more.

"Sasori told me you wanted her to be made into a member of Akatsuki. Why?" He walked across the room and sat down in a high backed chair tucked away in one corner.

"I need to teach her all of Jashin-sama's ways, and to do that, she'll need to be with me constantly," Hidan explained, trying to keep his temper under control.

"Does she have anything that would make her an asset to us?"

"She's immortal, like me, and also has a kekkei genkai."

"Show me," Pein commanded.

Aiko swallowed hard, stepping away from Hidan and Zetsu. Closing her eyes, she invoked the change. "I can use the power of demonic wolves," she told him, noticing how his gaze lingered on her ears.

"There are no members who require a partner at the moment, and Kakuzu cannot be paired with anyone else. Your immortality will be helpful if you intend to stay with Hidan," Pein said.

She resumed her normal appearance. "Does that mean-?"

"Yes. I will make you a member. Zetsu, bring her a uniform."

Zetsu vanished into the floor, then returned a moment later with a folded cloak, which he handed to Aiko.

"You may continue to wear your own clothes," Pein told her as she slipped the cloak on and fastened it, leaving the top clasp open.

"Thank you," Aiko said, adjusting the cloak.

Hidan looked around the room. "Where's Konan?"

"She's in another part of the city," Pein responded. "You can go now."

Zetsu turned and walked back through the door, Aiko right behind him. Hidan followed a moment after.

"Once you get back to the base, Pein should have a new mission for you," Zetsu's white half said as they went down the long staircase.

"We already have a mission," Hidan responded. "Aiko has to find someone. After that, we'll do whatever Pein wants."

"He won't be happy to hear you've decided to go off on your own mission," the black half stated.

"When is he ever happy? It shouldn't take us more than a week."

Aiko turned her head to look at Hidan. "You intend to find him that fast?"

Hidan nodded. "He's bound to have a bounty on him, so he'll be easy to find," he told her.

"I bet Kakuzu will be glad to hear that," quipped the white half from in front of them.

By this time, they had reached the bottom of the stairs.

"I'll tell Pein about your intentions to go after this bounty," the black half told them.

Aiko nodded, and she and Hidan stepped out into the rain.

---

She walked silently, her thoughts wandering. Her mind settled finally on the day her brother was killed. It had been a rainy day, just like this one. Aiko had been summoned to the Raikage's tower to be briefed on a mission she was needed on the following morning.

Just as she was about to be dismissed, the door burst open and one of the members of her brother's squad rushed in, blood streaming from a deep gash in his side.

"R-Raikage-sama, Captain Ryuuko's been killed!" the ninja panted, dropping to one knee and wincing in pain.

Aiko felt her body go numb. "What? Who-?" she stammered, unable to believe what she was hearing. Her brother couldn't be . . .

"It was Kaname. We had just crossed the bridge when he attacked the captain. I tried to stop him, but . . ."

The Raikage stood up and looked at Aiko. "Go find Ryuuko, but do _not_, under any circumstances, go after Kaname by yourself. I will assemble an ANBU team to find him."

She nodded once and sprinted out of the tower, to the east. The Tsuru Bridge was three miles away, but to Aiko it felt three times that far.

When she finally came within view of it, she stopped, her heart squeezing painfully in her chest.

She could see a figure lying at the base of a tree just across the bridge. Holding her breath, she crept forward, one hand going for the sword on her back.

A lump formed in her throat as she caught sight of the familiar black hair. His dark vest was torn in several places, and stained with blood.

When she got to his side, she dropped to her knees, cradling his head in her lap. She gently brushed a lock of hair off of his face and bent down to kiss his forehead, tears rapidly falling down her cheeks.

She barely felt a hand rest on her shoulder, and only when that hand shook her gently did she turn to look at who had disturbed her. It was Kai, Ryuuko's best friend.

"I'm sorry, Aiko," he said softly, kneeling down beside her. Behind him stood a four-man ANBU team, just at the Raikage had promised. "Let's get him back to the village. He shouldn't be left out here."

Two of the ANBU members came forward, bearing a stretcher. Kai and Aiko gently put Ryuuko onto it, then took the front two poles. The ANBU members who had brought the stretcher took the back two poles, and carefully, the four of them lifted it and began the long walk back home.

The following afternoon, Ryuuko was buried, and the ANBU team dispatched to track down Kaname.

Aiko lay in bed all day after the funeral, holding her brother's headband tightly against her.

A knock on her door roused her sometimes in the night. Getting stiffly off the bed - when had she fallen asleep? - she crossed the room and opened the door.

Kai stood in the hallway, his face pale in the dim light. "Kaname's crossed into the Land of Fire. The team can't pursue him any farther," he said, running a hand through his short brown hair. "I'm sorry, but there's nothing more we can do. The Raikage has put a warrant out for him, but . . ."

Aiko's eyes darkened. "He killed my brother, and they're just going to let him go?" she asked quietly.

"I wanted to keep searching too, but you know it's forbidden to cross into another land unless specifically asked to by their leader," he said, attempting to calm her.

"I don't give a damn about the rules! I want that bastard executed!" she snarled, her hands clenching into fists at her sides. She felt a sharp sting as her nails bit into her palms.

"So do I, Aiko, but we can do no more. I'm sorry." The door slammed in his face and he heard her slide the lock into place.

Aiko crossed over to the window and waited until she saw Kai leave the house.

Silently, she turned and began packing her tools into a backpack. Picking up her brother's headband, she carefully folded it and tucked it into the bottom of the bag. Her own headband was quickly untied and thrown across the room.

She would leave the village and hunt down Kaname by herself. Lone ninja crossed from country to country all the time; there was no rule against that.

Picking up her sword and strapping it to her back, she went to the window again and slid it open. Leaping out into the railing, she cast one final look over the village, her eyes glinting gold in the moonlight.

---

"Aiko, are you okay?" a voice asked, jerking her out of her memories. "You're shaking. What's the matter?" Hidan asked, stepping closer and peering into her face.

"I'm fine. This rain just . . . brings back memories, that's all," she told him, pasting a smile on her face and hoping it looked convincing.

He raised one eyebrow but didn't say any more.

She shook her head, trying to clear her mind. Memories were a dangerous thing to have, especially memories that invoked such a strong feeling of hatred.

They had come to the edge of the city, and the rain had finally eased up, much to her relief, and subsequent annoyance.

She gazed up at the sky, which was still thick with low-bellied grey clouds. "What's the point in stopping now? We're already completely soaked," she said to the clouds, resisting the urge to shake her fist at them.

"Arguing with the weather . . . Never seen that before," Hidan mused, trying not to laugh.

"Obviously you've never met anyone who has rotten luck when it comes to the elements. Hang around them long enough and you're bound to see a fight or two. It's when the weather starts arguing back that you really have to worry," she replied, casting him a sideways grin.

"Arguing back?" he asked.

"Yeah, Like, if you insult a storm, and then you almost get struck by lightning, or nearly drowned in a flash flood. That would be considered arguing back. It can actually be quite amusing to watch, as long as you're well out of range, of course."

This _did_ make him laugh. "And have you ever been on the losing side of an argument with a storm?"

"No, but a friend of mine had her leg broken when a branch struck by lightning fell on her. The fact that she had been complaining about the weather a few minutes earlier was too strange to be a coincidence, don't you think?"

He shook his head, grinning. "Come on, let's find a place to dry off before you catch a cold."

Aiko's only response was a sneeze.


	5. An Old Acquaintance

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Naruto universe, nor do I make any money from this story. All I own is Aiko.

---

A/N: Several attacks will be used in the chapter, and I use the Japanese names for them. Translations will be at the bottom of the page. It's also my first shot at a long fight scene, so be gentle on the criticisms please. Also, Aiko, Ryuuko, Hitomi, and Kaname all belong to me. One thing I forgot to mention, the events of this story take place in the Shippuuden timeframe, but kind of diverge after that, since I don't want to have to kill anyone.

---

Aiko stretched underneath the blankets. It was the morning after their meeting with Pein, and they were halfway back to the base. She and Hidan had stayed the night at an inn so they could properly dry off and have hot baths.

There was a knock on the door and she slid out of the bed, pulling on her overshirt and skirt. She usually slept in her mesh clothes in warm weather, and last night was no exception.

Opening the door, she came face to face with Hidan. He had a large tray of food balanced on one arm. "Hungry?" he asked.

She blinked sleepily. It was barely past dawn, and she was still half asleep. Yawning, she opened the door wider, allowing him to step inside.

Putting the tray down on a table in the middle of the room, he turned to look at her. She had closed the door and was now seated on the bed, her legs crossed. Her head was propped up on her hand, her eyes half closed. Usually she was an early riser, but this morning, two days of hard traveling had caught up with her.

"Still sleepy?" he asked, sitting down at the table and leaning back in her chair. She nodded.

"You'll wake up once you have something to eat." He stood up and went over to her, pulling her to her feet.

Seating her at the table, Hidan went back to his chair across from her.

Aiko yawned again and looked at him. "How long until we get back to the base?" she asked, reaching for one of the plates.

"We should be there by sundown," he told her, taking his own plate.

After they had finished eating, they left the inn and continued on the road that would lead them to the base.

Only a moment after they were out of sight of the inn, Aiko stopped, gazing off into the forest.

"What is it?" Hidan asked, noticing she had stopped.

"I smell something," she said, reaching inside her cloak and withdrawing a shuriken from the pouch at her waist.

After studying the forest for a moment, she smirked. "He's using Meisai Gakure no Jutsu." [1] She threw the shuriken between two of the trees. There was the sound of ripping cloth and a quiet curse.

"Drop the disguise. I can smell you," she said, shifting uneasily. This scent was familiar . . .

A light chuckle drifted out of the shadows. "You haven't changed a bit, Aiko-chan. Well, except for the company you keep." The air shimmered as the ninjutsu was released. Aiko's eyes narrowed.

"It's been a while, Hitomi," she said, her voice cool. Hitomi had been one of Kaname's closest friends, and had defected from the village along with him. His dark blue hair was kept short, his bangs framing his face, stopping just short of his chocolate-colored eyes. She noticed he still wore his green Jounin vest, though he wasn't part of the village.

He grinned at her, but it was a mocking smile; one that made her hands clench at her sides. Her eyes began to flicker between blue and gold, but she resisted the urge to use her kekkei genkai.

"You're not wearing your headband anymore. What's the matter, lose the will to play ninja after your brother died?" He stepped forward onto the road, keeping one eye on Hidan. "What's more, you're associating with Akatsuki? What's gotten into you?"

"Where is Kaname?" Aiko asked, glaring at Hitomi. A breeze picked up, and black tendrils of fire began to lick at her right hand; a sign that she was now very angry.

"You'll see him soon enough. He's been looking forward to talking with you again after so long." He started to take another step forward, but was blocked by Hidan's scythe.

"Stay back," he warned, his voice icy.

"It's okay, Hidan. I can fight him myself. I _want_ to." She unbuttoned her cloak and handed it to him. It would only slow her down, and she needed to be unhindered. Though she was immortal, Hitomi was still dangerous. He had been an ANBU member before leaving the village, though he no longer wore the mask or uniform.

"Tell me where Kaname is before I kill you," she growled, reaching for her sword.

As her hand closed around the hilt, Hitomi drew his own sword, leaping forward to slash at her. She danced back, barely missing being hit.

Jumping up into the branches of a tree, she formed several hand seals. "Katon: Housenka no Jutsu!" [2] Small darts of flame shot at Hitomi. He jumped to one side, stealing a quick glance at Hidan, who had moved to the other side of the road and was sitting against the trunk of a tree, one hand resting on the pikes at his waist.

Aiko flipped out of the branches and landed a few feet away from Hitomi, her sword drawn. "Last chance. Where is he?"

His only response was a laugh. "Rest assured, he'll find you. Soon." He swung his sword in an overhead arc, and she brought hers up horizontally to block it. Her arms trembled under the strain of holding him off. She had practiced with him before, back at the village. He had been strong then, and he hadn't even been using his full strength.

She twisted to the right, sliding her blade out from under his and making him lose his balance for a moment as gravity took over. His sword tip hit the ground, leaving him unguarded.

Completing the turn, she intended to hit him in the back, but he dropped to the ground, causing her sword to swing harmlessly over his head.

Hitomi stood up quickly, sinking his blade deep into her unguarded left shoulder.

Aiko yelped in pain as she felt the metal come in contact with bone.

Hidan leaned forward. She had been wounded. Would she use that opportunity to invoke the ritual?

She actually didn't want to use the curse on him, but if the battle progressed to the point where she had no other choice, she would use it.

Pulling the sword out of her shoulder, Hitomi smirked, shaking the blood off the tip. "Now you won't be able to use that arm for a while. I know your kekkei genkai lets you heal a lot faster than normal, but even it can't heal you in time to stop me from killing you."

Aiko bit her lip. What he said was true. Even factoring in the healing process of her immortality, since she wasn't performing a sacrifice, the wounds only closed a little bit faster than they otherwise would.

Though she couldn't use her left arm to help hold her sword, she could still move it enough to form hand seals, for which she was thankful. There was one jutsu she could use, but it was very dangerous.

Hitomi stepped away as she turned to look at him. She was careful to stay in one place, not wanting to scatter her blood in case she had to use the curse.

"It seems your friend over there isn't too concerned about you. He hasn't tried to help at all, even though you're hurt," he taunted, casting a look over at Hidan.

Aiko growled, her eyes changing to gold. A swirl of black flames surrounded her, and when it faded, her ears and tail had appeared. "I don't need help to kill you," she said, her voice laced with venom.

"Oh, really? Confident, aren't we?" He leapt forward, aiming for her heart. She turned to the side as he struck, but she wasn't fast enough to dodge completely. The sword slipped easily through her ribcage.

Her breath left in a gasp, and she dropped to her knees.

"Sorry that you couldn't get to see Kaname again. Unfortunate, really, he wanted to talk to you." He turned away from her to look at Hidan. "You Akatsuki have no sense of morals. I can't believe you would let your companion die."

"I'm immortal now, you fool," Aiko whispered in his ear. Hitomi spun around in surprise.

"What? How-?"

She dangled the pendant on her necklace between her thumb and index finger. "I serve Jashin-sama now. You can't kill me." With a hiss of pain, she pulled his sword out of her side and thrust it into his stomach.

He coughed, blood trickling out of the corner of his mouth. To her surprise, he smiled slightly. "I was wrong. You . . . _have_ changed . . . Aiko-chan." She stepped back as he fell forward, his eyes closing.

Aiko vaguely heard Hidan approach. She had just killed someone she had known her entire life. Hitomi had been her brother's age: 23; four years older than she was, but she had always considered him a friend. He had often trained with her when Ryuuko was out on missions. Though he was Kaname's ally, she couldn't help but feel a little bit of remorse. She closed her eyes for a moment, letting her kekkei genkai fade away.

Hidan wrapped her cloak around her.

She pulled it close around her and rested one hand on the wound in her side. "I wonder why Kaname wants to talk to me so badly," she mused.

"Come on, Aiko. Let's get going. We have to get back to the base so we can deal with those wounds. You may not die, but you can still get sick from blood loss," he told her, taking her arm gently.

She allowed him to lead her away, and carefully rolled her shoulder experimentally. She bit her lip as a white hot streak of pain lanced through her. Gently, she touched her shoulder, assessing the damage.

"The bone splintered a little," she said.

"How long will it take to heal?" he asked.

"Normally, the wound in my side would take a week because of the depth of the injury. My shoulder . . . four days, maybe? But I'm going to speed things up a little," she told him.

"How?"

"I know a healing jutsu. I'll have to wait until we get back to the base though. It takes up a lot of chakra, and I don't want to pass out in the middle of the road." Stiffly bringing her wounded arm up, she held her cloak closed with it and fished around in her bag with the other hand. She pulled out a small bottle and used her teeth to uncork it. Shaking a single pill into her hand, she replaced the cork and put the bottle back in her bag.

Eating the pill, she grimaced at the taste. "I guess it's only fitting for a blood replenishing pill to taste like metal," she said, replacing her hand over the stab wound. She realized it had finally stopped bleeding.

"I guess it'll take more than a week to hunt down your brother's killer. You'll have to be at full strength for that," Hidan told her.

"Yeah, I know. If I use my chakra to the limit, I can be fully healed in a day. I won't be good for anything the day after, but I'll be fine after that," Aiko said.

They lapsed into silence as they continued on down the road, both thinking about the upcoming battle they knew was sure to ensue when Aiko finally found Kaname.

---

By the time the sun went down, Aiko was beginning to feel lightheaded, in spite of the blood replenishing pill she had taken.

"We're almost there," Hidan said, leading her through the shadowy forest.

Coming to the cliff, he opened the door and stood aside. Aiko went inside, stopping to wait for him.

"Let's go," he said, leading her to the hall just to the left of Deidara's.

"Hey Hidan, there you are," a voice called.

"Damn it," Hidan muttered. "Not now, Kisame, I'm busy."

Aiko looked up to see someone standing at the beginning of the fifth corridor. He looked . . . almost like a shark.

"Zetsu-san came by. He said that the new girl could have the empty hall," Kisame said.

"Fine, but right now I'm taking her to my hall. She's been hurt. So, if you wouldn't mind . . ." He put one hand on Aiko's back, gently pushing her forward.

Kisame watched them go. That girl was hurt pretty badly. He could smell the blood on her, even from this distance.

Hidan took Aiko to the first door and opened it. The room resembled the one in the hideout where they first met: bed in one corner, weapons lining the walls. He took her sword and propped it against the wall, his scythe soon joining it.

She let her cloak drop to the ground and sat on the edge of the bed,

"Lay down," he told her, unzipping her overshirt so he could get a better look at the wound in her side.

She closed her eyes, eyebrows knitting together in concentration. She rested her left hand on the wound, and a soft green glow surrounded her hand. Her breathing became deeper, and Hidan thought at first that she had fallen asleep, but he saw her eyes open a moment later. He noticed that they were streaked with gold.

"I have more chakra when I use my kekkei genkai," she said, as if reading his mind.

After a few minutes, she removed her hand. The wound had closed up, leaving an angry red scar. Using her other hand, she did the same to the wound on her shoulder. She winced, and Hidan could hear a faint cracking as the bone knit back together. Soon, it too had turned into a scar.

"Is that it?" he asked.

She shook her head, closing her eyes. "I only healed the wounds on the surface, and the bone in my shoulder. I'll need more time to work on the internal injuries." She shifted slightly, resting her hands on her stomach. Once more a green glow emanated from them, but this time it was very faint.

"You don't have to stay in here with me, you know. I'm not going anywhere for a while," she told him.

He was silent for a moment. "I'll stay. If you run out of chakra, I'll give you some of mine."

Aiko cracked one eye open and looked at him. "Are you feeling okay? You're not sounding like yourself."

"You're my student. As your teacher, it's my job to look after you. You may not be able to die, but you can still be hurt badly, and you have been. I _will_ take care of you," he said.

She smiled a little and took a deep breath. Her side didn't hurt nearly as much as it did before, and she knew it was almost healed. She would have to be careful for another couple of days; the scars could still be torn open if she moved around too much.

Hidan saw the glow disappear from her hands and realized she had fallen asleep. Smiling slightly, he used her cloak to cover her up, then quietly left the room.

---

He went back to the anteroom and sat down at a long table against one wall.

Putting his hands behind his head, he leaned back and stared at the ceiling.

"How is she, hm?" a voice asked. Hidan looked over to see Deidara taking a seat across from him.

"She's sleeping right now, but she'll be fine," Hidan told him. "How'd you know she was hurt?"

"I heard it from Kisame." Deidara crossed his arms and regarded Hidan with his one visible eye. "Tell me something. You've come back with wounds as bad as hers before, and they didn't bother you. What happened with her, hm?"

"Two things. First, the longer you've been immortal, the faster you heal. She's only been immortal for a few days, so her healing process is a lot slower than mine. Second, I'm used to the pain. She's not," he explained.

"And how did she get hurt, hm?"

"An old friend of hers stopped by for a chat." He leaned back in his chair again, closing his eyes.

When he saw that Hidan wasn't going to say any more, Deidara stood up and went back to his hall.

A little while later, Hidan did the same.

Opening the door carefully, he peered inside. Aiko was still asleep, but she had curled up on her unwounded side with her back to him.

He crossed the room and sat down on the edge of the bed. Lifting up the edge of the cloak covering her, he leaned forward and ran a gentle finger over the scar on her side.

She shifted a little and sighed in her sleep.

There was a knock on the door and he growled in annoyance. Standing up, he made his way over to the door and opened it.

"Kakuzu? What do you want?"

Silently, Kakuzu pushed past Hidan and stepped into the room. "Zetsu told me that she was going to be our other partner." He looked over at Aiko.

"Yeah. We have something to do before we go on any missions though. Pein already knows about it," Hidan said, sitting back down on the bed.

"Going off on your own again, as always," Kakuzu said, narrowing his eyes slightly.

"We'll be bringing a bounty back, to stop your damn whining," Hidan snapped.

"Hm. Maybe this girl is a good influence on you. That'll be two bounties in less than a week."

Hidan bit back a retort, not wanting to raise his voice. "As soon as she heals, we're leaving."

"So you know where to find this bounty target then."

"Not exactly. But the one who did this to her said the target would find us, and soon. We'll get away from the base, then wait. If he's really as close as his friend says he is, we won't have to wait very long." He watched Aiko sleep for a moment.

Kakuzu leaned forward slightly when he noticed something. "Well now, would you look at that. She's marked you as her own."

Hidan stiffened, one hand coming up to touch his neck. His headband had shifted slightly, revealing the mark. "You know what that is?"

"Yes. But why do you have it?"

"Her kekkei genkai uses the power of demonic wolves. One of the downsides of that power are certain tendencies. In this case, the mating mark." He covered the silver scar back up.

"So am I to assume you two are . . . ?" Kakuzu trailed off, watching Hidan carefully.

"Yes. Does it matter?" He settled back on the bed.

"Just watch your back. Relationships can get you killed if you aren't careful." Kakuzu turned and walked out, closing the door behind him.

Hidan snorted. "Get me killed, huh? I'd like to see that." Laying down next to Aiko, he propped his head up on his right hand and watched her. She slept soundly, unmoving, even when he stroked one finger gently down her cheek.

He yawned and closed his eyes. Before long, he too was asleep.

---

[1] Meisai Gakure no Jutsu- Hiding Camouflage Technique

[2] Katon: Housenka no Jutsu- Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Technique


	6. A Day of Rest

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any related characters, nor do I make any money from the writing of this story. All I own are Aiko, Ryuuko, Hitomi, and Kaname.

---

The next morning when Aiko awoke, she found Hidan was already gone. Gazing around, she smiled when she saw that someone, presumably Hidan, had laid out breakfast for her. She slid out of bed and folded her cloak. Putting her blue overshirt back on, she began to eat.

Healing always made her hungry, especially when she used all of her chakra. Today she would have to rest; her chakra was still mostly gone, and would take most of the day to return.

She was stiff; one of the side effects of the healing, and when she had finished eating, she carefully stretched, trying to loosen up her muscles.

Opening the door, she stepped out into the hallway, looking around. She went to the beginning of the hall, and saw someone with short red hair. She frowned slightly. That was Sasori's hall, but this person looked nothing like Sasori. He couldn't have been more than fifteen or so, and had light brown eyes.

"Um, do you know where Hidan is?" she asked hesitantly. He turned to look at her.

"Hello Aiko. Hidan didn't want to wake you up, but he left just after sunrise. If he's back, he should be in the main room."

Her eyes widened slightly. "You know my name? But . . . I've never met you before, have I?"

"Yes, you have. I'm Sasori."

"But Sasori was-"

"The form you saw before was my puppet, Hiruko. I normally use him to protect my own body," he explained. "I'm doing maintenance on him right now, which is why I am as you see me."

She tilted her head a little to the side. His speech pattern was so formal. Maybe this really _was _Sasori. Looking down at herself, she wrinkled her nose. "Is there a shower or something I can use?" she asked him.

"There's a separate shower in each hall. Try the second door on the right," Sasori told her.

"Thank you. Um, if you see Hidan, would you tell him I'm looking for him?"

He nodded. "I will."

Aiko turned and went back to Hidan's hall, stopping at the door Sasori had told her about.

It was indeed a shower; the room was divided in half by a curtain, though it was pulled to the side at the moment.

She undressed and folded her clothes up. Turning on the water, she adjusted it to the right temperature. Stepping under the flow, she sighed as the water rinsed the dried blood off her wounds.

The door opened quietly, but Aiko didn't hear it over the sound of the water.

Hidan silently undressed and crept toward her. Slipping behind the curtain, he put one hand on her waist. She spun around with a gasp.

"Stop doing that! You scared the hell out of me," she hissed, brushing her bangs out of her eyes.

He smirked. "What's the point of being a ninja is you never use stealth?" Leaning forward, he kissed the scar on her shoulder. It had faded to a soft pink color, as had the one on her side. "You're healing well," he said.

Looking up at him, she smiled. His normally slicked-back hair had now settled on either side of his face. A single small lock had flipped forward onto his forehead, and she couldn't help reaching out and smoothing it back into place.

Turning around, she shut off the water. She pulled back the curtain and reached for a towel. Wrapping it around herself, she leaned against the wall and closed her eyes. Hidan dried off and redressed, watching her out of the corner of one eye.

"Don't let what happened bother you. You did what you had to do," he told her.

"It still feels wrong, though. Up until a month ago, I thought he was a good person," she said quietly. He went over to her and caught her chin between his thumb and index finger. Tilting her head up to look at him, he narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Don't blame yourself. Ninja have to kill people they know all the time. It's just part of life. You have to accept that and move on, otherwise you'll be eaten up by the guilt."

She sighed and nodded. "You're right. Seeing him again was just a big shock." Reaching for her clothes, she unfolded the mesh shirt and looked at it. The shoulder and side were ripped, and both it and the overshirt were covered in blood.

"I'll have to wash these and sew them back up."

Hidan took a step back and took off his cloak. Wrapping it around her, he nodded towards the door. "There's a place for you to wash them in the next room. Until then, you can wear my cloak so you won't have to walk around in a towel." He arched one eyebrow, making her snort.

Pulling the cloak tighter around her, she let the towel drop to the floor, then buttoned the cloak.

Aiko brushed past him and went to the door. Opening it, she stepped out into the corridor.

He watched her go, then bent down to pick up the towel. Folding it up, he smoothed his hair back into place and put the towel on a rack near the door. Smiling slightly, he went back to his room to wait for Aiko.

---

Some time later, Aiko returned to the bedroom, her clothes over one arm. It had taken her a while to get the blood stains out, but now they were clean and ready to be mended.

Opening the door, she glanced up at Hidan, who was stretched out on the bed, his arms behind his head. Going over to him, she smiled. He was asleep. Sitting down on the floor with her back against the bed, she reached for the pouch that usually rested on her hip. She had taken it off before taking her shower.

Fishing around inside, she found the small sewing kit and pulled it out.

After threading the needle, she began to fix the tears in her clothes. Halfway through the rip in her overshirt, she felt a gentle finger trace the scar on her shoulder. She turned to see that Hidan had awoken and rolled over onto his side, one arm under his head. He gazed down at her, smiling faintly.

"I didn't wake you up, did I?" she asked.

He shook his head. "No. It was just a quick nap anyway."

He traced the scar one more time, propping his head up on one hand.

"Don't worry, it'll fade. There will be a small mark, but nothing too bad," she assured him, finishing up the overshirt and starting on the mesh shirt. She had already put on her skirt and shorts, but still wore the cloak. "Sasori told me you were up at dawn this morning. You should've woken me up."

"I only had to go out for a little while. I didn't see any point in waking you up. Besides, I couldn't have taken you with me anyway."

One of her eyebrows shot up. "And why is that?"

He sat up and slid off the bed. Crossing the room, he picked up a sword she had never noticed before. It was fairly small, only half the size of the one she always wore. Coming back to the bed, he handed it to her.

"I went to get this. It's a present for joining us."

Aiko's eyes widened as she looked at it. The hilt was in the shape of a howling wolf head. Pulling the blade out of the sheath, her eyes widened more. There were flames engraved into the metal at the hilt. "But . . . I can't . . . This must have cost a fortune."

"Actually no. The one who made it owed me a favor, and this is it."

"But how did he get it done so soon?" She ran her hand over the sheath.

"The flames were custom, everything else was already made."

"Thank you so much," she said.

He sat down beside her, reaching out to touch the mesh shirt. "You know, you should probably do away with this if you're going to be using the ritual often. It'll get torn up otherwise."

Folding up the shirt, she reached into her bag again. Withdrawing a roll of bandages, she stood up and unbuttoned the cloak. Letting it fall to the ground, she used the bandages to bind her chest. Once that was finished, she reached for the overshirt, only to have her wrist grabbed.

For the second time, Aiko found herself in Hidan's lap. "What are you doing?" she asked.

His left arm curled around her waist, while his right hand crept up her leg. He stroke one finger teasingly up and down her thigh.

"You're going to make things hard with those bindings," he whispered, his breath tickling her ear.

She smirked. "I can't exactly make things easy for you, now can I?"

"Well, you could, but that wouldn't be any fun, would it?" He pulled her closer, then kissed her. She let him trail down to her neck, where he began to gently suck on the hollow of her throat.

A thought occurred to her. "I still haven't been introduced to everyone." Her head tilted to the side as Hidan moved from her throat to the other side of her neck, careful to avoid the still-tender scar.

He pulled away. "Are you sure?" The hand that had been on her thigh came up to twirl her necklace around one finger.

She stood up and put on her overshirt. It felt strange without the mesh underneath. "Everyone's here. If we wait, they might get sent off on another mission. We should take the opportunity while it presents itself."

He pushed himself up and retrieved his cloak. "All right, if you're sure."

He led her outside, and into the main room. "Go ahead and sit down. I'll be right back."

Aiko nodded, going over to the long table in the corner of the room. There were ten chairs, five on either side. She sat down in the second seat, her back to the wall.

A few minutes later, Hidan returned. He had managed to get everyone together, though Kakuzu looked annoyed.

They all took seats at the table. Three chairs were still empty; Pein, Konan, and Zetsu were still in Amegakure. Pein and Konan hardly ever left, while Zetsu was dispatched to relay missions for the others.

Hidan looked over at her, then stood up. "We've finally filled the place left by Orochimaru. Most of you have already met her. Aiko, you know Sasori and Deidara. The one across from Deidara is Kisame, and next to him is his partner Itachi." He turned his attention back to the others. "Aiko is going to be partnered with Kakuzu and me, since there's no one who needs a partner. Kisame also said that Pein gave her Orochimaru's hall."

Kisame leaned one elbow on the table. "Where did you get that scar, Aiko-san? Just yesterday you were injured."

"I heal fast," she told him. "I also used a jutsu to speed up the healing process."

"So you're immortal too, hm?" Deidara asked, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms.

"Yes, I am." She watched Deidara. He was the same age as she was, and perhaps because of that, she felt something of an affinity towards him. He was also the only one that had shown any friendliness when she first met him.

"Why did you leave your village?" The quiet voice came from the dark-haired Itachi. He watched her with an almost bored expression on his face.

She was silent for a moment. "A little over a month ago, my brother was killed by a teammate. He fled the village, and the Raikage said that he couldn't be pursued beyond the border. There was a warrant put out, but I wasn't satisfied with that, so I left to hunt him down myself. Yesterday, a friend of his cornered us. I finally killed him, but received the injury on my shoulder, and one in my side," Aiko explained, glancing over at Hidan as he sat back down.

"Those were some nasty wounds he gave you. You were covered in blood. That one in your side, it would have been fatal, wouldn't it? Kisame asked.

"Yes. That bastard was good. He slipped right through her ribcage," Hidan answered.

"And where were you when all of this was going on?" Kakuzu asked him. "Partners are supposed to help each other, not sit back and watch while they get cut up."

Hidan growled and opened his mouth to retort, but Aiko cut off whatever he was about to say. Or yell, in this case.

"It's not his fault. I asked to fight alone. I thought I could handle him alone, but I was wrong. He used to be an ANBU member; I just underestimated him." Her hand came up to hold the pendant of her necklace.

"When do you intend to find the killer?" Sasori asked.

"As soon as I heal, we're going to leave. Hitomi said that Kaname was looking for me. I'll get far enough away from the base so that he won't be able to find it, then let him come to me."

"What is Hidan going to be doing during all of this?" Kakuzu crossed his arms on top of the table.

"I'm going to help her," Hidan snapped.

Aiko shook her head. Kakuzu must be a hell of a ninja to be confident enough to keep baiting Hidan. Or was he immortal too? It would have been an interesting situation. Two immortals who couldn't stand each other partnered up. She had to bite back a laugh.

"Are we done yet? We all have better things to do than listen to these two idiots bicker all day," Itachi said. Two pairs of eyes fixed on him, but he didn't flinch under the angry gazes. His eyes narrowed slightly, and Aiko could have sworn she saw his eyes flash red for a moment.

"Yeah, we're done. Get out of here," Hidan said. One by one, the others stood up and left, leaving only Aiko, Hidan, and Kakuzu seated at the table.

"Why are you still here?" Hidan asked, glancing over at Kakuzu.

"Give me your bingo book. I need to look at something."

Hidan raised one eyebrow. "Where's your book?" When Kakuzu didn't respond, he reached into his cloak and pulled out the small book.

"I still have it, I'm just marking off the ones I've already collected from. That way, if you ever come to your senses, you won't go looking for a target that's already dead," he answered, taking out his own book and flipping through it.

Hidan stood up. "Come on, Aiko. I'll show you your new hall." She blinked in surprise at the abrupt change in subject.

"Um, okay," she said, following him out of the main room. He led her to the fourth hall from the left and to the first door. Opening it, he stood aside and let her enter.

The room was dark; Hidan came into the room after her and lit a torch in one of the brackets on the wall. As light filled the room, Aiko gazed around. In one corner was a bed, and a table in another corner. Other than that, it was bare.

"This entire hall belongs to you now. The rooms are empty, but you can decorate them however you want," he told her.

She looked around, then sat down on the edge of the bed. "It's cold in here," she said.

"There are blankets in the next room, you can-"

"No, not cold as in the temperature, but . . . empty," she said, cutting him off. "There's an almost inhuman feel to this room."

Hidan gave a short laugh. "Inhuman is right. Orochimaru was very snakelike. Not just in personality, but appearance too. Pale skin, golden eyes, vertical pupils . . . He was from the same village as Itachi, though Itachi joined later. They were actually partners for a while, but something caused Orochimaru to leave." Hidan sat down next to her.

"Did you ever meet him?" she asked.

"No. He left long before I joined. I've heard a lot about him though."

Aiko gazed around, then lay back, arms outstretched. He looked back at her.

"If you're uncomfortable here, I'll let you stay with me. There might be some raised eyebrows, but . . ."

She looked up at him and smiled. "Thank you."

He stood up and took her wrist, pulling her to her feet. "Come on, let's go. It _is_ cold in here."

She laughed and let him lead her back to his hall.

---

Stretching out on the bed, Aiko closed her eyes with a sigh. Her right hand came up to touch the scar on her shoulder, tracing it gently.

"You're not worried about that scar, are you?" Hidan asked, sitting down next to her.

"No. There won't be much of a scar once it fully heals. I'm just seeing if it has changed at all. The more my chakra returns, the faster it'll fade," she explained.

He looked down at her, then bent over her. "It seems to be getting smaller. It's also starting to turn white at the edges."

She smiled a little. "It'll be completely gone in a week. Less if I make a sacrifice before then."

"How do you know?"

"Before I met you, I learned as much as I could about your immortality. Because you hit vital points to complete the ritual, you need to have an incredibly fast healing rate so you don't lose all your blood. I figure any injuries you get before then also undergo the same healing when you invoke the curse."

He nodded. "Not bad. Did you learn this on your own, or were you forced to learn it in your village?"

"By myself. It struck my interest after I left. I knew if I wanted to stand a chance against Kaname, I would need some way to heighten my chances of living. Immortality was definitely an option. That's why when you first found me, I agreed to serve Jashin-sama with you." She grinned. "The trade off of becoming your lover was just a bonus."

He raised one eyebrow, a wicked smile crossing his face. "I never would have pegged you for the type to want ultimate revenge. For that, you have to be able to shut down your emotions completely. Can you do that?"

She nodded once. "I can. For Ryuuko, I'll do anything"

"All right, then. Tomorrow, we start the hunt."


	7. Confrontation

Aiko awoke early the next morning. Looking down, she noticed that Hidan had his arm around her. She smiled slightly and carefully moved his arm. She stood up and went to the wall, looking over the weapons. Picking up her sword, she strapped it to her back, then picked up the one Hidan had given her. After buckling it to her waist, she grabbed her cloak and slid it on, leaving the top clasp open.

Quietly, she opened the door and crept outside. Going into the main room, she sat down in one of the chairs. She propped her head up in one hand and closed her eyes.

"You're up early," a quiet voice said. Aiko's eyes opened and she looked up to see Itachi step out of the shadows. He took a seat across from her.

She sighed. "Yeah. What about you? It's barely after sunrise." She watched him warily, but was unable to read any expression in his dark eyes.

"Force of habit," he responded.

"There you are, Aiko."

She looked up to see Hidan. He was already wearing his scythe and cloak. "Good morning," she told him.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked.

After a moment's hesitation, she nodded. Standing up, she went to Hidan's side. He took her to the entrance and unsealed the door.

"We'll be back in a few days," he told Itachi.

A single nod was Itachi's only response.

Once outside the base, they began heading to the west, into the forest. Hidan looked over at Aiko.

"We'll get a couple of miles away, then wait," he told her.

"Okay." Pushing the bottom of her cloak aside, she unzipped the pouch at her waist and withdrew a small bottle of pills. Uncorking it, she shook one into her hand and ate it. "Do you want one?" she asked, offering him the bottle. "They're soldier pills."

He held out one hand and she shook a pill into it. She recapped the bottle and put it back in the pouch.

They walked for a couple of miles, finally coming to a clearing. Aiko sat down against the trunk of a tree, while Hidan jumped up into the branches.

"I'm a little nervous," she said after a moment.

"Don't be. He can't kill you. If things get too out of hand, I'll step in and help." Aiko opened her mouth to say something, but he stopped her. "I know what you're going to say. This is your revenge and you want to do it alone. But if this guy was able to kill your brother, he's very dangerous. You may be immortal, but that doesn't mean you can't get into a hell of a lot of trouble against a strong opponent. I'll stay out of it unless you ask me to step in, okay?"

She looked up at him. "Okay. But I'm giving the finishing blow. I owe that to Ryuuko." Leaning her head back against the tree, she closed her eyes.

A breeze picked up, blowing her hair around her face. She opened her eyes and sat up straight, scanning the forest.

Hidan picked up on her uneasiness. "Aiko? What's wrong?" He dropped out of the tree, landing neatly beside her, his scythe already in his hand.

"Something's wrong," she whispered, getting to her feet.

She narrowed her eyes as a figure jumped out of a tree in front of them. It was a young man with short dark teal hair and eyes almost the same shade as Hidan's. He wore a dark blue tunic over a light green short sleeved shirt, and black gauntlet-style gloves. His pants were black, and Aiko gritted her teeth when she saw he still wore the dagger Ryuuko had given him when they were made Jounin. He also still wore his headband, and she noticed the metal was still intact; he hadn't marked through the symbol, signifying that he was no longer part of the village.

"That was fast," she said, crossing her arms and watching him warily.

"I've known where you were ever since you left the village," Kaname said. His voice was quiet but powerful. "You killed Hitomi. You've also joined Akatsuki. You've been busy, haven't you?"

Aiko unbuttoned her cloak and tossed it aside, unsheathing her sword. "He attacked me. I don't take well to having someone try to kill me."

Kaname's brow furrowed. "Hitomi tried to kill you?"

"Are you deaf or something? _Yes_. How do you think I got this scar on my shoulder? Two days ago, he tracked us down, and attempted to kill me."

"That doesn't make any sense. Hitomi wouldn't do that. We need you alive."

This caused her to lower her sword in surprise. "And why is that?" she asked.

"Oh, so you don't know. I'm surprised. If I were you, I would want to know the real reason my brother was killed. But then, I don't see how you _would've_ known, it was supposed to be a secret." Kaname crossed his arms and smiled.

"Quit screwing around and tell her why the hell you did it!" Hidan snapped, taking a step closer.

"All right, take it easy. I'm going to tell her." He stepped towards Aiko, making her stiffen and bring her sword back up. "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you. For now. The truth is, I was paid to kill Ryuuko. Someone outside of the village learned about your family's kekkei genkai. One of the unique traits of yours is that it resides in the blood. He wanted to study it, see if there was a way to replicate it."

"So you killed him for _money_?" Aiko said, her eyes beginning to flash gold in her anger.

"I also got the promise of being able to receive the power of the kekkei genkai if he could replicate it. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough blood for him to sufficiently analyze. We need more."

"And by more you mean . . . ?" Hidan asked.

"We need someone who can provide a steady supply of blood to study. We need Aiko. She's the only one left who carries the kekkei genkai," Kaname said, looking over at Hidan.

"So you're going to use me as a test subject?" she asked.

"I prefer to see it as expanding our horizons," he told her.

"And how exactly do I benefit from this? You take me back to this guy where I get locked up and essentially become a tap for you. I've lost my brother, my home, my _life_, because of you. I am not going to give up my freedom to satisfy your twisted curiosity and need for power," Aiko snarled. "You took my previous life away from me. But I won't let you take my new life too."

He scoffed. "New life? Serving Akatsuki is your new life?"

"I don't serve them. They've become my family. You're paired up with someone, and you go everywhere with them. You do missions together, you protect and help each other. Actually, it's too bad there are no openings right now, you could learn some things. Like not betraying your best friend," she told him, her voice laced with venom.

"Life is hard. You do what you have to do to stay alive, right?"

Aiko shook her head. "How was your life ever compromised in this exchange? You get money and power, while Ryuuko gets a knife in the back. I don't see how that puts you in danger."

"The man that paid me is collecting people who have a kekkei genkai. Hitomi and I are the ones who go out and get the subjects." He frowned slightly. "Well, I guess it's just me now, since you killed Hitomi. Anyway, he analyzes them, and withdraws what he needs to replicate the individual traits, then studies them. After that, he'll graft the kekkei genkai into a subject. And I want _your_ powers, Aiko."

"That's insane, and incredibly dangerous. Most people who have a kekkei genkai have bodies specifically altered to deal with the powers. If your body is incompatible, it'll kill you," Aiko said incredulously. "And if it doesn't kill you, you'll have to live in a permanently activated state. You won't have the ability to revert back. It'll continuously eat up your chakra, shortening your life."

"A small price to pay for what you have. Besides, your kekkei genkai comes with a fast healing rate, and a longer lifespan. Maybe that longer lifespan will cancel out the effects of the permanently activated state." He took another step closer to Aiko, making Hidan grip his scythe harder and narrow his eyes.

"Why do you want this so badly? If you get a kekkei genkai, what are you going to do?" Hidan asked.

"Nothing for a while. We'll need more successful test subjects before we do anything. But once we have enough, we're going to overthrow the Raikage." Kaname's eyes darkened as he said this. "I've been gathering ninja who have decided to leave Kumogakure, as well as rogue ninja who hold a grudge against it. Once Seiryu perfects his research, we'll strike."

"You're insane," Aiko hissed. "Why would you do that to your own village?"

"I'm going to be the new Raikage. Once we have enough ninja, we'll take over the other lands."

Aiko rolled her eyes. _'What is it with men and world domination?' _she wondered.

"Why don't you join us? You'll get to live, and I'll give you control of whatever land you want. I'll even let your friends live. What do you say?" He closed the distance between them and caught her chin between his thumb and index finger, tilting her face up.

She recoiled, slapping his hand away just as Hidan brought his scythe down right where Kaname was standing.

Just before it struck, Kaname leapt away. He landed several feet away and chuckled.

"You don't have to give me an answer right now. Come find me with Seiryu. Two hours west of Kumogakure is where you'll find his lab." With a final smile, he formed a hand seal and vanished.

Aiko dropped to her knees, biting her lip so hard it bled. Kneeling down beside her, Hidan put a hand on her shoulder.

"Do you want to go now, or wait?"

She looked up, glaring off into the forest. "Now. I'm not letting him destroy the village." Standing up, she retrieved her cloak.

Hidan watched her carefully. "You're still loyal to your village, aren't you?"

She was silent for a moment. Reaching into the pouch at her waist, she withdrew the headband. "This isn't mine. It's Ryuuko's. I threw my headband away the night I left. I don't know what I feel for the village." She closed her eyes, her eyebrows knitting together. "When the Raikage said we couldn't go after Kaname, I lost all loyalty to him, even though he was only following the laws. I won't go back to the village; I have nothing left there. My parents were killed on missions several years ago, and now Ryuuko too. But . . . even though _I'm_ not loyal, there are others who are. I can't let them lose everything. Kaname has to be killed; if not for revenge, then for the freedom of the village."

"How long will it take to find him?"

"About a day. There's this little town right where Kaname said the lab was. If we ask around, we'll be able to find Seiryu, I'm sure of it. We can go to the town without needing to use Kumogakure as a navigation marker. That town is something of a resort. My guess is, he's using the travelers that come through as test subjects," she explained resheathing her sword and replacing the headband back in the pouch.

Hidan watched her button her cloak. "We'll kill them both. If you just kill Kaname, Seiryu will find more test subjects. We need to stop the problem at the heart."

Aiko took a deep breath and began heading northwest, straight for the town.

---

Towards sunset, they came to the top of a cliff overlooking the resort town. It was lit up with lights, and Aiko could see the people walking around, even though they were a couple of miles away.

"What do you think we should do? I don't think it would be very wise to just walk down there in these cloaks. They may be mostly tourists, but this village isn't without its defenses, and they know what Akatsuki is," she said, crossing her arms.

"How do you know? This village is too small to have ninja," Hidan responded.

"It's true the village is small. But because of the high income, it needs protection. In exchange for monthly fees, Kumogakure supplies it with enough ninja to keep it safe," she explained.

"So what are we going to do?"

Aiko looked him over. "We'll go into the village, but without the cloaks, and you'll have to leave your scythe behind. We'll buy a plain cloak, to hide the Akatsuki pants, and then we'll ask around. If Seiryu is as well-known as I think he is, it should be a simple matter to find him."

Hidan frowned. "I can do without the cloak, but why my scythe?"

"Because they'll recognize it. We were taught to look for anything that would set Akatsuki members apart. Though they don't know exactly what you look like, they'll identify you by the scythe. We'll hide it, and our cloaks in the forest, and disguise them with genjutsu. After we pinpoint Seiryu's location, we'll come back for them," she told him.

"You were a squad leader, we're you?" he asked, smiling slightly.

She shot him a sideways glance. "Why do you say that?"

"The speed at which you came up with that plan. Squad leaders have to formulate plans in s split second."

"Yes. Two years ago, I became a Jounin. Six months later, I was given a team of Genin to train. Once they were old enough, I decided to apply to ANBU. Because of my kekkei genkai, I was accepted, and made into a captain soon after that." She turned slightly to show him the tattoo on her right upper arm. "That's why it was so easy to get away from the village. ANBU members are taught to destroy their bodies when they're dying. The night I left, I had a mission the next morning. They probably thought I left early on my own and got into trouble."

She unbuttoned her cloak the rest of the way and took it off, folding it up. "Give me your cloak and scythe."

Slowly, Hidan took off his scythe and unhooked the cable from his waist. He handed it to her, then took off his cloak. She folded it over her arm with her own cloak.

Aiko turned and walked back into the forest, heading for the town. She would drop them off just outside of the village, within easy reach once they found out where Seiryu was.

She found a large tree just out of sight of the village and hopped up into the branches. She put their cloaks into a fork, then arranged his scythe so it wouldn't fall out. Jumping back down, she formed a few hand seals and cast a genjutsu over the tree, making the cloaks and scythe vanish.

"Do you think anyone will recognize you?" Hidan asked as they passed through the town's gate.

"I hope not. Having someone you know come back from the dead is very unsettling," she answered. Looking at the different shops, she stopped at one at the end of the first street. "Here we go. You can get a cloak here." She led him into the shop.

While Hidan went to pick out a cloak, Aiko decided to talk to the shopkeeper.

"Can I help you, darling?" asking the old woman, smiling. "Yes, thank you. I was wondering if you know of anyone named Seiryu?"

The old woman nodded. "Why yes, of course. He's a scientist; his lab is just five minutes north of here, in the forest."

Aiko smiled. "Thank you very much." She turned and went over to Hidan. He had his back turned to her and the shopkeeper, careful to make sure the old woman couldn't see his headband. "Found him. Guess you don't need a cloak. Seiryu's lab is five minutes north of here. We can go get our things, then skirt around the village and find the lab."

"That was easier than I thought," he told her, walking just behind her out of the shop and back up the street.

"He's probably well-known here. Not to mention the fact that he probably comes down here a lot to buy things. I bet every shop in this town knows who he is," she explained.

They made it back to the forest and she dropped the genjutsu surrounding the tree.

Retrieving the cloaks and Hidan's scythe, she put her cloak on and buttoned it up. "It's time to end this," she said.

He nodded once, walking beside her as they made their way around the village.

---

Kaname sat perched on the roof of one of the shops, watching Aiko and Hidan as they left the village. Soon, he would have the power of her kekkei genkai. Losing Hitomi had been a setback, but perhaps it was for the best.

Hitomi had always had a soft spot for Aiko, seeing her as something like a little sister. Kaname had suspicions before, and with Hitomi's death, they were confirmed. He had tried to kill Aiko to prevent Seiryu from acquiring her blood to finish his research.

While her kekkei genkai did stay in the body after death, the longer the blood was still, the weaker the power became, until it finally disappeared. The blood Kaname had gotten from Ryuuko had been taken after he was dead, making the kekkei genkai diluted. That's why he needed Aiko: a live bearer.

Seiryu had tested ten different carriers of a kekkei genkai, but so far none had been completely successful. With each different power he replicated, he got closer to perfecting it.

With Aiko's blood, he would be able to successfully graft her powers into Kaname.

Kaname smiled as Aiko and Hidan drew closer to the lab. Everything was falling into place. He leapt off the rooftop and into the forest behind the town, moving quickly so that he would get there before they did.

---

Aiko stopped and narrowed her eyes. She could see the lab. It looked similar to the hideout Hidan had first taken her to. All she could see of it was a staircase leading down into the ground. There was only a single door, and it was propped open slightly.

"They're waiting for us," Hidan said, pulling his scythe off his back.

She nodded. "Yeah." Taking a deep breath, she stepped forward. "Let's go."

Unsheathing her sword, she descended the stairs and opened the door.

"Be careful. We don't know what we'll find," Hidan warned her.

"I know. But they won't hurt me. They need me alive, remember?" She looked over at him and smiled, then stepped into the darkness.

---

A/N: When Aiko is talking to Kaname about the kekkei genkai, I'm completely making it up. I don't know if a complete transfer of powers is even possible, but it sounds cool, doesn't it? I just thought if Kakashi could make use of the Sharingan when he wasn't born with it, couldn't other kekkei genkai get passed from host to host too? Also, I have no idea what direction Kumogakure is in relation to the southern border of the Land of Water. If anyone does know, feel free to correct me.


	8. Kaname

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Naruto universe, nor do I make any money from this story. All I own are Aiko, Ryuuko, Seiryu, Kaname, and Hitomi.

---

Gripping her sword tightly, Aiko looked around. Though the sun had set, there were no torches lit, but there was a faint illumination coming from somewhere.

The main corridor led straight on, with smaller halls on each side. Aiko wrinkled her nose. There was a vague antiseptic smell, reminding her of a hospital. She invoked part of her kekkei genkai, raising her sense of hearing and smell.

The antiseptic smell grew stronger, but she also began to pick out human scents; among them, Kaname's.

"He's here," she whispered, continuing past the many smaller halls. At last, she came to a door at the very end of the corridor. A soft bluish-green light shone out from under the door.

"Don't be afraid. There's nothing he can do to kill you. If you get into too much trouble, I'll step in," Hidan told her, putting a reassuring hand on her shoulder. He took a step back as a wave of black fire erupted around her, transforming her into her full form.

She put one hand on the doorknob and turned it. The door opened silently, revealing a large room. There were big tanks lining the walls, though they were empty. The water from these tanks was what was causing the eerie illumination.

"What is this place?" Hidan asked quietly, gazing around.

"This must be where they keep the test subjects after grafting the kekkei genkai into their bodies," Aiko answered, walking over to one of the tanks and putting her hand on the glass. Each tank was cylindrical, and about eight feet tall, plenty big enough for an adult human.

"Then where the hell are they?"

"There aren't any," a voice said from behind them. Turning around, they saw Kaname standing in the doorway. "The technique for putting the kekkei genkai into other bodies hasn't been perfected yet. But you're going to change that." He stepped further into the room, closing the door behind him.

"How am I going to help?" she asked, watching him warily.

"Seiryu almost had the technique perfected, but his test subject died before it was finished. But now that we have you-"

"Like hell! You are _not_ going to use her as an experiment. It's time you were stopped," Hidan snarled, unwinding a length of cable from his waist, preparing the range in case he needed to use his scythe.

Kaname glanced over at him, raising one eyebrow, then looked back at Aiko. "Protective, isn't he?"

"He's my partner. You're supposed to take care of your partners," she said.

His eyes narrowed and he took another step forward, making Aiko take an automatic step back, up against a tank. "That scar on your neck . . . why hasn't it disappeared? Your kekkei genkai should have prevented a scar of that size, unless . . ."

Her hand came up to cover the scar.

Once more, Kaname's gaze flickered to Hidan. "That's a mating mark, isn't it?" he asked, a wicked smile crossing his face. "That's why he's so protective of you, not because you're partners. You've chosen him as your mate."

She unbuttoned her cloak, tossing it aside. "And if I did? Why do you care?"

"You never gave me an answer. Are you going to join me?" Another two steps brought him only a couple of feet away from Aiko. His hand reached out to pick up the amulet around her neck. "You're even wearing matching necklaces. How sweet."

Aiko's gaze cut to Hidan, and her eyebrows came up slightly. Kaname didn't know what the necklace stood for, which meant he didn't know that she was immortal. That gave them the advantage, not just because he couldn't kill her, but because he wasn't expecting it.

"I'd sooner die," she hissed, lashing her tail angrily.

He shook his head. "Too bad. It would've made things a lot less painful for you. You're going to help us, willingly or not." Reaching up, he tweaked one of her ears gently.

She jerked back, snapping at his hand. "Don't touch me!"

Backing up, Kaname leaned against the opposite wall. "What do you say we get started? The sooner that I subdue you, the sooner I get your powers."

Aiko growled, her ears laying back. She raised her sword and leveled it at him. "Hidan, step back."

Narrowing his eyes, Hidan backed into a corner, out of the way of the fight.

"Come on, Aiko. You want revenge for Ryuuko, don't you?" he taunted, half-smiling.

She knew he was trying to get her to attack, but she was beginning to lose patience with him. Against her better judgment, she lunged forward.

Kaname smiled and flexed his right arm, filling it with chakra. When she was close enough, he ducked under her sword and brought his arm across her stomach, pushing her backwards, hard.

Aiko yelped as she hit one of the tanks. The force of the blow caused the tank to shatter. Shards of glass scattered across the floor, some larger pieces embedding in her back and cutting her arms. Hitting the wall, she slumped forward in the water from the tank, which was now stained with her blood, stunned.

Kaname began to advance, but Hidan was faster. Kneeling down next to Aiko, he pulled the shards of glass out of her back and shook her gently. He pulled a pike from his waist and pointed it at Kaname. "Come any closer and I'll kill you myself," he warned.

A groan from Aiko made him turn his head.

"I'm okay," she said quietly, shaking her head to clear it. The sound of a blade being unsheathed drew her attention. "Hidan, move!" she yelled.

He turned around, just as Kaname stepped forward and stabbed him with his dagger.

Aiko screamed as she saw him fall, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. She glared up at Kaname, who had moved back and crossed his arms.

"Now you're free to help Seiryu's research," he said, watching her calmly.

She leaned forward over Hidan, propping his head up in the bend of her elbow. She put her face near his mouth, pretending to check his breathing.

Closing her eyes, she drew he eyebrows together and bit her lower lip. "You killed him," she said, almost too quietly for Kaname to hear. It wasn't hard to pretend Hidan was dead; she just allowed memories of the day Ryuuko was killed to drift into her mind, and hot tears of anger and pain sprang up into her eyes.

Pulling the dagger out of Hidan's chest, she tossed it aside and lay him gently back down on the ground.

Aiko picked up her sword from where she had dropped it when Kaname hit her and stood up. She knew why Hidan had deliberately allowed himself to get hit; he wanted to remove himself from the fight, making sure that Kaname would focus just on her.

Reaching up, she pulled her necklace off and began to pray, beginning the ritual. "Why . . . must you take _everything_ away from me?" she asked, replacing the chain around her neck.

"I'm taking everything away so that I can give you a new life. I had plans for you after you left Kumogakure, but you disrupted them when you joined Akatsuki. Now, we can get back on track," he told her.

"And what plans might those be?" she spat. "Killing the Raikage and destroying the other lands?"

"Not destroy them. Unite them, under one leader. That way, there will be no more wars."

"And I'm guessing that leader will be you," she said, lowering her sword lightly.

"Not me. Us. You're going to help me. Not just with your kekkei genkai, but as my partner." He took a step forward, and Aiko immediately raised her sword.

"Why me?"

"Because you're going to be the one who helps me reach that goal, so you'll be rewarded by being able to influence the lands."

She stepped over Hidan, putting herself between him and Kaname. "No. I will not help you. Your dream ends now, in this room. You're done." She leapt forward, making Kaname jump to the side to avoid her blow. Her blade glanced off his shoulder, slicing a shallow groove just below his neck.

Quickly, he grabbed his dagger and turned to face her again, rolling his shoulder experimentally. The cut wasn't deep enough to hinder his attacks, though it did hurt.

Aiko looked down at the blade and smiled. Bringing the tip up to her mouth, she licked the blood off. Now she just needed to draw the circle to link them together. She looked down at the floor. The wounds she had gotten from the glass of the tank weren't deep enough to give her a sufficient amount of blood. There had to be more.

"Come on, Kaname. If you want me to help you, you're going to have to get serious," she said, trying to provoke him into attacking her.

He tilted his head to the side slightly. "Does that mean if I win, you'll willingly help us?"

She took a deep breath. "I will." It was a lie, but one she needed in order to get him to attack her.

Smiling, he lifted his dagger and stepped towards her.

Aiko glanced down at Hidan, then moved to the side, drawing Kaname away from him. She wanted to get Kaname's back to him, so that he couldn't get a good look. If he got close enough, he would be able to see that Hidan wasn't really dead.

"I knew you would see it my way," he told her, taking another step towards her.

"Don't get ahead of yourself. I said if you win. You haven't even put a scratch on me yet," she responded.

He laughed lightly. "I threw you through a tank. I think that counts as more than a scratch."

Aiko shook her head. "No. The glass was what injured me, not you." She stepped forward, pushing her shoulder up against the tip of the dagger he held. "Do it."

When he hesitated, she leaned forward, hissing in pain as the blade sank into her shoulder. Immediately, she jerked back, putting enough distance between them to draw Jashin's symbol.

"What the hell . . . ?" Kaname muttered. "Why did you just do that?" He watched as her blood collected on the floor.

Quickly, she drew the circle, and as she finished the circumscribed triangle, put her sword back into the sheath on her back.

His eyes narrowed in confusion as she brought out the sword Hidan had given her. Holding it up, she drew it lightly across her cheek.

Kaname's hand came up to his own cheek as a line of blood began trailing down it. He traced the cut, then looked at the blood. "Is this some kind of genjutsu?" he asked. "But how did you cast it without any hand seals?"

"This isn't a genjutsu. What you're experiencing is real. I'm going to kill you, right here," she told him.

His eyes widened as he saw her skin begin to darken. In only a few seconds, she had taken the death-like form of the full curse. He took a step backwards.

"What the hell are you?" he whispered.

"She's a servant of Jashin-sama," a voice said from behind Kaname. He spun around to see Hidan stand up and wipe the blood from his mouth. "She's turned you into a sacrifice."

"How . . . I killed you," Kaname said, slightly panicked.

"No. I'm immortal, you dumbass. I pretended to be dead so Aiko could set up the ritual." He put his scythe on his back and replaced the pike. Walking around Kaname, he stopped behind Aiko, smiling slightly.

Kaname gripped his dagger tighter and leapt forward. Quickly, Aiko switched her blade to her other hand and sank the blade into her right forearm, making Kaname drop his dagger with a yell of pain.

Wincing, she withdrew the blade and shook the blood off.

Growling, Kaname grabbed the dagger in his left hand and ran forward again. This time, Aiko didn't stop him. He drove the blade deep into her side, then paused.

Taking a step back, he gasped as a growing stain of red blossomed on his jacket. He coughed explosively, blood splattering the floor.

"Have you figured it out yet?" Aiko asked.

Kaname looked up at her, breathing hard. "Figured . . . You mean why this is happening?"

"You're linked to each other. Whatever damage is inflicted upon her, you also take. You are one lucky bastard. It seems you missed her vitals, so you'll live, for the moment," Hidan said, walking over to him and touching his side with one finger. He looked at the blood and smiled. "It would have been interesting, though, if you had given a fatal blow. Imagine, trying to kill her, and winding up killing yourself. But I doubt Aiko would be satisfied with that, seeing as how she wanted to kill you herself."

Aiko reached down and pulled the dagger out of her side, tossing it over to Kaname. It fell at his feet.

"Come on, are you going to fight back or not? If not, I'll have to go ahead and kill you, and I'm not ready to do that yet," she said, twirling her sword absently with one hand.

"Fight back? I can't fight back. I can't attack you, or I'll be hurt. What do you expect me to do?" he said, picking up his dagger.

"I expect you to defend yourself. Don't just stand there like a coward. Try and kill me," she snapped, her voice deadly quiet.

He shook his head. "I don't want you dead, remember? We need you alive."

"You're still thinking about that? Get it through your thick skull, you're not going to get that kekkei genkai!" Hidan said, walking away from him and leaning against the wall.

"Oh, but I will," Kaname said, stepping forward into the circle with Aiko. She stepped back, but not out of the symbol.

Hidan tensed, putting one hand on the pikes at his waist.

Kaname bent down and put his hand in the puddle of blood that had collected from the wound in Aiko's side. He brought the blood up to his own side and rubbed it into the gash.

"What are you doing?" Aiko asked, watching him with wide eyes.

"Your kekkei genkai is in your blood. If I mix your blood with mine . . ." He pushed her backwards, forcing her out of the circle and up against the wall. His eyes narrowed as he watched her resume her normal appearance. He looked down at the symbol on the floor, then back at her. "So that's it. That symbol connects you to your victims. Step out of the circle, and the link is broken."

He stepped forward, knocking the sword out of her hand. He hooked one ankle around her foot and jerked it out from under her, making her fall.

Kaname grabbed one of her hands and slashed her palm, then his own. Lacing their fingers together, he pressed the wounds to each other.

He closed his eyes as Aiko's blood coursed through him. It hurt, burning through his veins and setting them on fire.

Opening his eyes, he looked at her. One of his eyes was the original light purple, but the other swirled between purple and gold, never settling. "Just before you came, I was injected with a serum that would make my blood able to merge with the enzyme that provides your kekkei genkai. Now, I carry it too. It's not as strong as yours; I would need much more blood. But I have it." He smiled, showing small fangs.

He froze as he felt something sharp press into his back. Turning his head slightly, he looked at Hidan, who had taken off one of his pikes and now had it against Kaname's spine.

"Get up," Hidan commanded, putting just enough pressure on the pike for it to slightly pierce Kaname's skin.

Slowly, Kaname stood up, letting go of Aiko's hand. He stepped away from her, and Hidan removed the pike from his back, but kept it pointed at him.

Hidan reached his free hand out to Aiko, and pulled her to her feet.

Aiko looked at her hand; the wound was deep, but already beginning to close. She picked up her sword and returned to the circle. Immediately, the curse was renewed, and she narrowed her eyes at Kaname.

His left eye had finally changed to pure gold, and his ears were slightly pointed. It seemed that was all the change was going to do to him; more blood was needed to fully complete the outer change. As for internally, Aiko had no idea what his capabilities were. She twirled her sword a few times, waiting to see if Kaname would do anything more. When he didn't move, she gritted her teeth and pressed the tip of her blade against her chest, just above her shirt. A line of blood trailed down, wetting her shirt.

The same stain appeared on Kaname's vest, but he still didn't move. This made her pause. He should be doing something, anything, to keep her from hitting a vital point. Instead, he looked as if he were bored.

Stepping slightly to the left, he formed several hand signs. Things were about to get bad. Those seals were-

"Futon: Daitoppa!" [1] The force of the wind knocked her backwards, into another tank. She hit it, sending spider web cracks running through it. A moment later, it exploded, covering her with water and broken glass.

The water spread across the floor, heading for the drain in the center of the room. Aiko's eyes widened as it washed over the symbol, erasing it. There went her chance of invoking the ritual. And now that Kaname knew how it worked, there was no way he would let her make another symbol.

There was one attack she could use, but it was dangerous, both for her, and for those around her. It was a large-scale jutsu, one that would completely deplete her chakra. She had only used it twice before; both times it had left her unconscious for several hours. If she could kill Kaname, then Hidan would be able to take care of Seiryu, but if she was unconscious, it would make things problematic.

She had to kill Kaname without using that jutsu, and she had to do it before he got more of her blood.

The jutsu was one Ryuuko had created; it was what made him a Jounin so young. It was a jutsu only her family could use, but only Ryuuko could do it perfectly.

Aiko narrowed her eyes. What should she do?

---

[1] Futon: Daitoppa: Wind style: Great Breakthrough


	9. Revenge

Aiko bit her lip. This was turning out to be much harder than she anticipated. She had counted on Kaname being an elite fighter, but she hadn't expected the symbol of her ritual to be washed away. She would have to rely on her own fighting skills now, or find a way to catch Kaname off-guard long enough to renew the curse, which she didn't think she could do.

Kaname wanted her blood in him, not on the floor, so wounding herself would be difficult. If she could only think of a way to offer her blood to him, then attack . . .

Her eyes widened slightly as a thought hit her. It was dangerous, but it just might work.

Looking down at her palm, she used her dagger to reopen the wound, then made a similar cut on the other hand. Dropping the dagger, she stepped towards Kaname, holding her palms out toward him.

"All right, Kaname, I concede. I've lost too much blood to continue the fight. I'll help you and Seiryu." She glanced over at Hidan, praying he would see what she was planning.

Kaname reached out his hand to her, and she pressed the wounds together. He clenched his teeth as he felt her blood race through him again.

Aiko wound her free arm around his back, putting her palm over the gash in his side, effectively locking them in place.

Taking a deep breath, she turned her head to look at Hidan. "Use your scythe, now!"

Kaname gasped and tried to pull away, but she held him tightly. Hidan pulled his scythe off and threw it at them. The blades entered through Kaname's back, and the tips exited through Aiko's. She knew Kaname's vital points had been hit, but so had hers. With a whimper of pain, she pulled away from Kaname, then dropped to one knee.

Hidan crossed the room and knelt down beside her, one arm around her shoulders to keep her upright.

They watched Kaname as he stood there for a moment, blood soaking his vest. He fell to his knees, gasping.

Aiko watched him with narrowed eyes. Struggling to her feet, she picked up her dagger and walked over to him. She tilted his face up with the blade, locking eyes with him. "For Ryuuko," she whispered, then drove the blade through his heart. Pulling Hidan's scythe out of him, she watched as he fell forward, dead.

Handing the scythe back to Hidan, she took a deep breath. "Now we have to find Seiryu. If we don't stop him, he'll just find more test subjects."

He watched her for a moment. "Can you fight? You've lost a lot of blood."

"No, I can't. What I said to Kaname was the truth. You'll have to do it. Turn him into a sacrifice if you want to, just make sure he's dead," she told him, putting her dagger back into its sheath and retrieving her cloak. It had stayed dry throughout the fight, something she was thankful for. Buttoning it up, she walked to the door.

"How will we find him? This damn place is like a maze," Hidan said, following her out into the corridor.

"I can smell him," she responded, going back to the main hall. Turning right, she headed back towards the entrance. At the second corridor on the left, she turned and began following it. It was hard to see; the torches were still unlit. She reached into the pouch at her waist and took out a plastic stick about a foot long. Cracking it, she shook the liquid inside, lighting it up.

Holding it out in front of her, she gazed around. The walls were dark grey stone; the doors heavy metal On each door was a number, written using the roman numerals.

They passed several doors, eventually coming to a set of double doors at the end of the hall.

Aiko stopped and put her hand on the door, her eyes darkening. Gripping the handle of the door, she pushed. It swung open easily. She replaced the stick back in her pouch.

Unlike the corridor, the room was lit by a torch in each corner. In this room were tanks, but they were empty and dark. A figure stood in the center of the room. He was bent over a table, his hands propped on the metal. His elbow-length hair was silvery blue, but Aiko couldn't tell much else about him; his back was turned to them.

He wore the standard white lab coat; the hem swirled around his knees as he turned.

"You must be Ryuuko's little sister," he said, watching her with sky blue eyes. "Not much of a family resemblance, though."

After Killing Kaname, Aiko had released her kekkei genkai to preserve her remaining chakra for one final jutsu. Her eyes were now their normal dark blue.

"Ryuuko looks different than me because our kekkei genkai presents itself differently in each of us. He had golden eyes in his human form, while I only have them in the activated state," she told him coldly. "Siblings don't always have to look alike."

"I hope you really _are_ siblings; I'd hate to see that kekkei genkai die out," he told her, putting his hands in his pockets and smiling warmly at her.

Hidan raised one eyebrow. "And how are you going to replicate it? If you take too much of her blood, she'll die. And Kaname's already taken too much of it as it is."

Seiryu perked up slightly. "You mean he acquired her blood successfully? Did the serum work?"

"He's dead," Aiko replied, narrowing her eyes. "He was able to get my blood, but we killed him before the transformation was complete.

Seiryu smiled, his eyes lighting up. "It worked . . . It actually worked. Three years of research, and it's finally complete."

Hidan pulled his scythe off his back, removing his necklace with the other hand. Closing his eyes, he brought the pendant up to his mouth and began to pray.

"What is he doing?" Seiryu asked.

"You don't know about Akatsuki, do you?" Aiko asked. "If you did, you would know about his abilities."

"I've heard of them, yes, but I don't know any specifics."

Hidan grinned wickedly. "You're going to witness firsthand what we can do. You picked the wrong member to piss off." He twirled his scythe once, then stepped forward. "Come on. We're stopping your research right here and now."

Seiryu's countenance darkened. "I can't let you do that. We've work too hard, and are too close to completion to be stopped now."

"Your minions are both dead. You don't have anyone else to continue your work," Aiko said venomously.

He fixed his gaze on her. His personality had completely changed from a moment ago. Where he had been friendly before, now he was cold and direct. "Don't be so naïve. I'll just get more test subjects."

"I'm not being naïve," Aiko responded calmly, crossing her arms. "You can't get more people if you're dead."

Seiryu's frown deepened and he reached into his lab coat. He withdrew a blade in the shape of a crescent. The handle ran across the inside curve, making a 'D' shape. The entire weapon was about a foot long.

As Aiko watched, it began to resonate with a low hum, and glow a soft blue.

"A chakra blade," she said quietly. "Why would a scientist have something like that?"

"I have to have something to protect myself, don't I?" he said silkily, bringing the blade up in front of him. "You can try to stop me if you want, but I'm telling you now, it won't work."

Hidan looked over at Aiko, resting his scythe on one shoulder. "Arrogant bastard, isn't he?"

"No arrogant; confident," Seiryu said, walking forward slowly. He stopped a few feet away from Hidan and lowered the blade. "Do you want to make the first move, or should I?"

Aiko raised one eyebrow. His personality had switched again. What was the matter with him? Did he have multiple personalities? She had never met anyone like him before.

"You can go first," Hidan said, smiling. He rarely made the first move; preferring to let his opponents strike first, giving them an opportunity to draw blood so he could start the ritual.

"Very well. That scythe won't give you much defense, though. It's too big," Seiryu warned him.

"Try me," Hidan replied, raising one eyebrow with a grin. Aiko smiled. Performing the ritual always put him in a good mood. And it was at that point that he was most dangerous. She backed away, against one wall, getting well out of his way. She had been struck by that scythe once, and she didn't want it to happen again.

Hidan removed the scythe from his shoulder and held it in the center of the handle, balancing it horizontally at his side. He took his weight onto his left side, shifting into a relaxed stance. Aiko wondered how he could stay balanced holding his scythe in his right hand while leaning to the left; that weapon was heavy. But she didn't know how long he had been using it; he was probably accustomed to its weight by now.

Hidan watched Seiryu as the scientist rolled his shoulders, loosening up his muscles.

"How does someone go from being a ninja to being a mad scientist?" Aiko asked from behind Hidan.

"Five years ago, I became a Jounin and was sent on my first S-ranked mission. We were ambushed by a squad of ninja from the village we were going to be infiltrating. Two of my team members were killed; the fourth member and I were severely wounded. The only thing that kept the last member alive was his kekkei genkai. Like you, Aiko, his abilities allowed him to heal quickly. His was also blood-based, which is how my life was saved. Something in my own blood merged with his, allowing him to heal me.

"After that day, I attempted to learn all I could about the powers of the kekkei genkai, hoping I could harness it and graft it into others, possibly saving their lives, like mine had been saved. But the leader of my village found out about my research, and I was kicked out."

Aiko's brow furrowed. "Save their lives . . . by giving them healing abilities. A good thought that blossomed into a terrible outcome."

"For two years I wandered from village to village, collecting information about different kekkei genkai. I took the strongest and tried to replicate them. Three years passed and I got closer and closer to finishing the serum that would allow the merging of a kekkei genkai with a body that wasn't a natural carrier. Then, with an enzyme from Ryuuko's blood, it was complete. I can't let you destroy five years' worth of research."

"Tell you what. I'll make you the same deal Aiko offered Kaname. If you win, we'll help you with your research. But if I win . . . well, there won't be much you could do, since you'd be dead," Hidan said.

Seiryu nodded. "Very well. It'll be interesting to have a member of Akatsuki helping me. Do you carry a kekkei genkai?"

Hidan shook his head. "No. Although I do have other abilities that are useful. But enough talking, I'm getting bored."

"Yes, we are wasting time." Seiryu held the chakra blade up once more. "This thing has quite a bite to it. I hope you don't mind bleeding."

"Don't worry about me. I have a very high tolerance for pain," Hidan replied.

Aiko almost snorted. A high tolerance for pain was putting it mildly. He practically thrived on it.

"I won't kill you, merely wound you enough to make you lose consciousness." He turned his eyes to Aiko. "And then I'll have you. There will be no need for us to fight. You're hurt too badly as it is."

"Are you sure you want to take me on with just one little blade? I'm fully armed; you've hardly got anything," Hidan said, shifting his stance again, centering his weight.

"This will be plenty," Seiryu said, flaring his chakra briefly, causing the glow around the blade to light up the room.

As the light died away, Seiryu leapt forward, bringing the blade down in an arc.

Hidan took a step back, raising his scythe to deflect the blow. Seiryu's weapon glanced off the top blade of the scythe, causing a small shower of sparks.

Spinning around the scythe, Seiryu swung his blade again, opening up a deep gash in Hidan's shoulder. Jerking away from him, Hidan swung his scythe, uncoiling a length of cable as he released the handle. The momentum of the swing caused the scythe to rotate, and it flew towards Seiryu.

Seiryu jumped aside, and the scythe smashed through one of the tanks, causing an explosion of glass.

Hidan pulled his scythe back to him, careful not to move and disrupt the puddle of blood that was forming beside him. Just a bit more . . . He turned his head to inspect Seiryu. One of the shards of glass had clipped his arm; there was a small cut just below his elbow. But where was the piece of glass? He looked around, trying to find it. He could see small droplets of his own blood that had come from Seiryu's blade. There it was, just off to Seiryu's left. The tip of the glass was covered in crimson, just enough to use for the ritual.

Grinning, Hidan stepped in his own blood and began drawing the symbol. As he finished the third side of the triangle, he stepped forward, towards Seiryu, who backed away warily. Picking up the shard of glass, he licked the blood off, careful not to cut himself.

Seiryu lunged toward him, and Hidan danced backwards, back to the symbol. There was a faint crackling sound, then a wave of electricity covered them both.

Aiko shielded her eyes from the bright light. That was Raiton; she would recognize it anywhere. Seiryu had used the metal blade as a conductor. She looked up as the light began to fade.

Hidan was barely inside the symbol, and had taken the deathlike form of the full curse. Seiryu's chakra blade was buried in Hidan's arm, and Seiryu himself was standing in front of him with his head bowed. Every few seconds, a small ripple of electricity would go through them. Hidan seemed unfazed, but Seiryu . . . was he even alive?

Finally, he raised his head. "How did you do that?" he asked quietly, removing the blade from Hidan's arm and stumbling backwards. "What are you?"

"Your death. I told you before, you picked the wrong member to piss off," Hidan responded, putting his scythe on his back and pulling a pike from his waist.

"My attack shouldn't have affected me. How did it happen?" Seiryu demanded, gritting his teeth. He was struggling to stay upright; the electrical current had turned his legs to rubber. They had both taken the blow, why wasn't Hidan feeling as weak as he was?

"You're pathetic if you can't even stand up to a little attack like that," Hidan said with a taunting smile.

Seiryu gritted his teeth and switched his blade to his left hand, shaking the numbness out of the other.

"Come on, I'm losing patience with you." Hidan twirled the pike absently, watching Seiryu as he took the blade back into his right hand.

"I will not lose!" Seiryu said, pouring chakra into his weapon. He stepped forward, shaking his head to clear it. His pace quickened, but just before he reached Hidan, he fell down with a cry of pain. Looking up, his mouth opened in shock.

Hidan had driven the pike into his stomach, but he had missed the vital points.

Blood soaked the front of Seiryu's coat, and he put his free hand over the wound. It was getting hard for him to breathe.

"Don't you pass out on me, I'm not finished with you yet," Hidan said, pulling the pike back out. He shook the blood off, then took a step back to look at Seiryu. "Should we continue our game, or do you want me to end it? I'm in no hurry."

Seiryu tried to struggle to his feet, but began coughing, scattering ruby drops of blood onto the floor.

"Go ahead and finish it. He can't breathe, so he can't fight back. There's no point delaying it," Aiko said, coming up beside Hidan, standing just outside of the circle.

Hidan looked over at her, then nodded once. He turned his attention back to Seiryu. "Looks like you lucked out." He narrowed his eyes, then drove the pike through his chest. "I'm immortal, which is why you were going to lose before we even began the fight."

Seiryu looked up at him, his eyes glazed. "Immortal . . . huh? Too bad . . . you wouldn't help me. The . . . three of us would've been great. . . " He fell to the side, his eyes going dull.

"Let's get out of here," Aiko said, looking down at Seiryu.

Hidan removed the pike and replaced it on his hip. "What are we going to do about the lab?"

"I'm going to destroy it," she answered, going out the door and back towards the entrance. "With my brother's jutsu, I'll burn it to the ground."

Once outside, Aiko took a deep breath. Though they had only been inside for a couple of hours, she was relieved to be out in the fresh air again. She looked around. Behind the lab was a small hill; that would be perfect.

She began to walk towards it, Hidan following close behind. "What exactly is this jutsu?" he asked.

"It's one only my family can do; a special summoning," she replied, cresting the hill. "Get behind me."

Hidan circled around her and stood back.

Kneeling down, Aiko made several hand seals. Reaching inside her cloak, she coated her right hand in blood, then put it on the ground. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu! Katon: Makai no Ryu!" [1]

A huge dragon wreathed in flame rose out of the center of the lab. It circled once, then dropped back down, setting fire to the rubble.

Hidan watched the dragon demolish the lab, then disappear. He looked back down at Aiko.

"It's done. Let's go home." With that, she fell back, unconscious.

---

A/N: I couldn't help myself, I had to put a weapon similar to Asuma's in here. A tribute to him, I guess you could say. Kind of ironic, huh?

[1] Kuchiyose no Jutsu; Katon: Makai no Ryu: Summoning Jutsu; Fire style: Dragon of Hell


	10. A Surprise

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Naruto universe, nor do I make any money from this story. All I own are Aiko, Ryuuko, Kai, Kaname, and Hitomi.

---

Aiko opened her eyes slowly. She was looking up at a rocky ceiling. Sitting up, she looked around. A cave.

"Finally, you're awake." She turned to see Hidan sitting against the wall, his arm propped up on one bent knee. "You've been asleep for two damn days."

"Where are we?" she asked, looking outside. It was dark; the moon hadn't yet risen. Reaching a hand inside her cloak, she realized that she was clean; there was no trace of blood left on her.

"A few hours away from that village. The fire was attracting a hell of a lot of attention. We couldn't stay, so I brought you here," he told her. "Why did you pass out?"

"I've been trying for the longest time to perfect that jutsu, but I haven't been able to. Ryuuko created it. It saps all of my chakra, and knocks me out. Usually it's only for a few hours. But because of my injuries, I was asleep for much longer than usual," she explained, standing up and walking to the mouth of the cave. "Are you ready to go?" She turned her head to look at him.

"You just woke up and you already want to leave? Are you strong enough?" He got up and went over to her.

"Yes, I'm fine. The moon will be up soon. I can draw strength from it," she told him, gazing up at the sky. She walked out into the night and leaned against the trunk of a tree.

Hidan raised one eyebrow and followed her out. "You don't look all right." He watched as she slid down the trunk, closing her eyes. He knelt down beside her and tilted her face up. "You're still too damn weak. Come on." He reached down and scooped her up. Her eyes flew open and she automatically wrapped her arms around his neck.

"What are you doing?"

"Taking you back inside. You're not going anywhere until morning." He carried her back into the cave and put her down next to the small fire he had built.

Aiko crossed her arms and looked away as Hidan sat down beside her. "I'm fine. I just got a little dizzy for a minute."

"Nice try. We're not leaving until morning, and that's fucking final," he said, stretching his legs out and crossing them. She looked over at him, then sighed. After a moment's hesitation, she lay down on her back with her head in his lap. He looked down at her in surprise, then smiled slightly.

"I'm not sleepy, you know," she told him, crossing her arms again. "Really, we can leave."

He turned her face to look at him. "At first light, we can go, but until then, you're not leaving this cave. Why are you so fucking determined to get back, anyway?" He studied her face carefully. She had one eyebrow raised, and her eyes were half-closed in annoyance.

"Why are you so determined to stay here?" she countered, sitting up and leaning back on her hands.

"Because the base is a day away, and you're not strong enough to make it back there right now."

"You're going to have to find something to occupy your time, then, because it's a long time until morning, and I'm not tired," she said, picking up a lock of her hair and twirling it around one finger.

A wicked grin crossed his face. "Something to keep me occupied, huh? I think I can do that." He leaned forward and grabbed her wrist. With a startled yelp, Aiko found herself straddling his lap, her hands resting on his chest, and her face only inches away from his. His left arm was around her waist, making sure she couldn't move.

Her mouth went dry and she felt her heartbeat speed up as she took in his scent. "This isn't what I had in mind when I told you to find something to do," she said breathlessly. His scent was intoxicating, making her lightheaded. She wanted to pull away, but as much as her mind told her to move, her body wouldn't respond. The longer she sat there, the more she began to wonder why she should move. His lap was comfortable. His knees came up, creating a kind of cradle where she sat.

Removing his hand from her waist, he unbuttoned his cloak, then reached up and began slowly unsnapping the clasps on hers. He pushed it off her shoulders, then replaced his left arm around her.

She watched his right hand come up and unzip her overshirt. He pulled it off and rested his hand on her shoulder. The scar that Hitomi had given her was almost completely gone; only the faintest mark remained. Running one finger over it, he traced her collarbones and traced a straight line from the center of her throat down her chest, over the bandages. When he got to her stomach, he reversed directions, going back up and capturing her chin between his thumb and index finger.

Leaning forward, Hidan kissed her. He was gentle at first, but soon became demanding, forcing her to open her mouth to him. She felt his hand release her chin and move down to her waist, where he untied the strings of her skirt.

He broke the kiss and pulled the skirt off her. She rested one hand on his chest and traced the line through his headband with the other. Moving her hand from the headband, she braced it against the wall and leaned forward, kissing his neck. After a moment, she pulled away and he kissed her again, his hand going around her back, searching for the tie of the bindings around her.

Finding the knot, he began to pull at it, but Aiko squirmed away, making him growl quietly in annoyance. Holding her tightly with one arm, he shifted positions, pressing her against the wall. She shivered as the cold stone came in contact with her bare skin.

Hidan pinned her arms above her head and held her wrists in one hand, the other going back for the knot on her bindings. The knot finally came free, but instead of unwrapping the bandages, he tucked the end into one of the layers and skimmed his fingers over her side.

Releasing one of her wrists, he moved her arms to her sides, then held them there. Kissing the hollow of her throat, he moved to her neck and began sucking on the flesh.

Her head tilted to the side and she released her breath in a quiet moan. His touch set her blood on fire, and an ache began building in her lower stomach. He pulled away after a minute.

Hidan smiled as he watched her reactions. Waiting was beginning to test his self-control, but he was enjoying torturing her. Finally, he let go of her hands. Sitting down and crossing his legs, he pulled her into his lap again. She wound her legs around his waist, and sighed quietly as he caressed her thigh.

"What are you doing? Hurry up," Aiko told him, closing her eyes as one hand curled around her back, stroking a path up her spine.

"No. We're going to go at my speed tonight," he said, leaning forwards to nibble on her neck.

Aiko shifted slightly, narrowing her eyes and smirking as she felt him harden beneath her. "Your speed, huh? But how long can you last before you lose control?" She hissed as he nipped her neck.

"I can wait as long as I fucking need to. And I'm not doing anything more unless you beg. I know you're stubborn, but I also know how much you want this." He looked up at her, his red-violet eyes dancing wickedly. Leaning forward, he whispered in her ear, "So beg me for it."

"You're evil, you know that?" she told him, but she couldn't help but smile. The hand on her thigh moved a little closer to her center, and she inhaled sharply as his thumb barely grazed over it.

"Just get it over with. You're beginning to crack; you won't be able to last much longer."

Biting her lip, Aiko shook her head. She wanted him more than she would say. But to beg? Could she really do that? She didn't think her pride would allow it, but . . . At this point, she would do almost anything to get him to continue.

"Please," she whispered, her fingers tightening on his shoulders. He smirked and leaned forward.

"What was that? I can't hear you."

She sighed in frustration. "Please. I need-" Her words were cut off as he kissed her roughly. He leaned towards her, making her go backwards. One hand curled around her back and he slowly lowered her to the ground.

He broke the kiss and ran one hand down her side, then over her stomach. Kneeling over her, he took his weight onto his knees and one hand, letting the other glide down her thigh and back up the inside, stopping just short of where she wanted it, making the ache in her stomach spike almost painfully.

Shifting restlessly, she exhaled harshly as his hand continued to stroke the inside of her thigh.

Hidan could feel the heat radiating off her body, and knew that in only a moment, she would snap. And not a moment too soon; his own self-control was almost at its limit.

Aiko locked eyes with him. "You win. Please, just do it already. I can't take it any more." Her breathing was ragged, and she was shivering slightly beneath his touch.

He smirked. "Perfect. I fucking love winning." He leaned forward and kissed her using his free hand to finish undressing her. Breaking the kiss, he trailed down to her neck, nibbling gently on the flesh. She gasped and arched her back as he traced patterns on her neck with his tongue, simultaneously sliding two fingers into her. Wrapping her arms around his shoulders, she hummed in appreciation, making him smile.

Finding a smooth rhythm, he was surprised when he felt her inner muscles begin to ripple after only a minute. He had no idea she was that close from his teasing.

Sitting back and undressing, he leaned against the wall and pulled her into his lap, so she was straddling him. Putting his hands on her hips, he lowered her down, sighing contentedly as her warmth enveloped him. He let her set the pace, choosing to lean back and watch her.

Keeping one hand on her hip, he used the other to reach up and pull the end of her bindings out from where it was tucked. She was surprised when he managed to tie it back one-handed. Moving his hand up behind her head, he pulled her towards him for a final kiss. She opened her mouth to him and he slipped his tongue inside, relishing her taste.

He tightened his grip on her as climax washed over him, triggering her second one only a moment later.

She collapsed against him, breathing hard. After a moment, she stood up and helped pull him to his feet. They got dressed in silence.

He leaned forward and wrapped one arm around her waist, pulling her to him. "Sleepy yet?" he whispered, kissing her neck.

Aiko smiled. "A little. Was tiring me out your only reason for doing that?" she asked, raising one eyebrow.

"No, but if it'll get you to rest, that's a plus, right?"

She had to resist the urge to smack him. Pulling out of his hold, she went to the back of the cave and sat down, wrapping her cloak around herself as the chill of the night surrounded her.

Hidan watched her as she pulled her knees up to her chest and folded her arms across them. He could tell from her expression that she was more tired than she let on. Sitting down beside her, he stretched his own legs out in front of himself and sighed.

Once again, Aiko lay down and rested her head in his lap. She curled up with a yawn.

"I thought you weren't sleepy?" he said teasingly, leaning over to look at her.

"Bite me," she grumbled, not opening her eyes.

This elicited a chuckle from him, and he leaned against the wall, closing his own eyes.

---

The next morning, Aiko was awakened by Hidan shifting beneath her. She opened her eyes and turned over onto her back, looking up at him curiously. A quick glance outside told her it was just before sunrise; everything was enveloped in a silvery light. A fleeting smile crossed her face. Hidan was still asleep. His head was bowed, and he slept soundly. It was only the second time she had ever seen him asleep; usually he was awake before she was. It was endearing to see him like this; so deceptively calm. Seeing him this way, it was hard to believe what a short temper he had, and how coarse his language was.

Had he been watching over her the entire time she was asleep? Was it even possible for someone to stay awake that long? No wonder he was so tired.

Sitting up, she stretched, pushing her cloak off herself. Her stomach growled loudly, reminding her that she hadn't eaten anything in three days. The soldier pill she had taken had sustained her while she was asleep, but now she needed food.

She went to the mouth of the cave and looked around. The forest was dense; there would probably be something to hunt. If that failed, she would try fishing. The thought of standing in cold water this early in the morning didn't thrill her, but they needed food.

Casting a final glance back into the cave, Aiko smiled; Hidan hadn't moved. Forming the necessary hand seals, she cast a genjutsu over the cave, disguising it. She didn't think he would have a problem if anyone showed up, but she wanted to be sure.

Once she was confident the genjutsu was solid, she turned and headed off into the woods, invoking part of her kekkei genkai; enhancing her hearing and smell.

At once, scents flooded into her consciousness; birds, flowers, even the morning dew. Closing her eyes, she sifted through them, looking for something that would serve as an adequate meal; some rabbits, perhaps. There. To the northwest. She crept through the trees, careful not to disturb anything that would give her away.

Peering around the trunk of a tree, she gasped as a heavy weight suddenly sent her crashing into the ground. She was flipped onto her back and a kunai was pressed against her throat.

"What the hell!?" she spat, struggling against the weight that was pinning her to the ground. Her attacker was an ANBU member; he wore the standard mask and uniform. A thin line of blood trickled down the side of her throat where the kunai was cutting her. "Let me go!"

Suddenly, the pressure on her windpipe eased, and Aiko inhaled sharply. She looked closely at the young man. Short brown hair . . . From this distance, she could smell him clearly. It couldn't be . . .

"Kai?" she whispered, her eyes widening.

He sat back on his heels, the kunai dropping to the ground, forgotten.

Reaching up, Aiko pulled his mask off. Familiar grey eyes stared back at her in shock.

"You're the new Akatsuki member?" Kai whispered, extending one hand to wipe the blood off her neck. "But . . . you were killed in a mission two months ago."

A crashing in the trees made Kai jump off her; Aiko scrambled backwards just as a familiar scythe embedded itself in the ground exactly where they had been.

"Get the fuck away from her!"

Aiko turned her head to see a very angry Hidan standing in the branches of a tree several yards away. He had a length of cable held loosely in his left hand, and his eyes were fixed on Kai.

"Your partner, I assume?" Kai asked, never taking his eyes off Hidan.

"Yes," she told him as Hidan jumped out of the tree and made his way over to her, retrieving his scythe on the way.

"What happened, Aiko? Tell me," Kai said, his eyebrow furrowing. "We lost Ryuuko and you within three days. Everyone thought you had been killed."

"The night of Ryuuko's funeral, I left the village to track down Kaname. I wasn't satisfied with just a warrant, so I decided to find him myself," she explained. "Not too long ago, Hidan found me, and I was invited to join Akatsuki. Three days ago, I found Kaname."

"What happened?"

"We fucking killed him. And Hitomi," Hidan said, watching Kai through narrowed eyes, as if daring him to come any closer.

"Aiko, please come home. Everyone was upset when they found out you'd gone missing. I'll tell them that you were captured by Akatsuki, and-"

She cut him off. "No, Kai. That life is over for me. I'm not part of Kumogakure any more; I'm sorry. Tell the Raikage about me if you want, I don't care."

He shook his head. "I can't tell him. If I did, I would be betraying Ryuuko. He always protected you; if I didn't protect you in his absence, I wouldn't be able to call myself his friend anymore."

Aiko exhaled. That was something she hadn't expected. Kai was more loyal to her than to the village. "Thank you," she whispered, finding her eyes beginning to fill up with tears. A thought occurred to her. "How did you find m, anyway?"

"I was in that village the other night. When the lab behind it went up in flames, I saw the jutsu that did it. I recognized it as Ryuuko's. You can imagine my surprise when I saw a member of Akatsuki instead of you. He was carrying someone; I'm guessing it was you. I tracked the two of you down; finally finding you just a little while ago." He took a step back. "Now that I know the truth, I can stop wondering what happened." His gaze cut to Hidan. "You'd better take good care of her, or I'll find out." With a quick smile, he vanished in a swirl of leaves.

Hidan growled in annoyance at the subtle threat, but Kai had already disappeared. "Do you think he'll tell the village about you?"

Aiko shook her head. "No. His loyalty to Ryuuko is too strong. He would never do anything to put me in danger."

He sighed. "You'd better be right. All we need is for a damn ANBU squad to come looking for us."

"Let's get out of here," she said, putting one hand on his arm and turning to go back to the cave to get her cloak. "I'm ready to go home."

Casting one final glance at where Kai had disappeared, Hidan followed her back to the cave.


	11. Coming Home

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Naruto universe, nor do I make any money from this story. All I own are Aiko, Ryuuko, Kai, Kaname, and Hitomi.

---

Stepping back into the shadow of the cave, Aiko put one hand on her stomach as it growled loudly. With Kai's appearance, she had completely forgotten about getting food.

"You sound hungry," Hidan said from behind her. She turned her head slightly to look at him.

"Yeah. I went out to find us something, but . . ." Trailing off, she bent down to retrieve her cloak.

"Who the hell was that anyway?" he asked, leaning against the mouth of the cave with his arms crossed.

"Kai was my brother's best friend. They were on the same team when they were young, and became ANBU members together," she explained, putting the cloak on and buttoning it. A lump had formed in her throat; she swallowed hard, trying to make it disappear.

Hidan watched her carefully. "Do you regret leaving your village?" he asked finally.

She thought about her answer for a moment. "I don't regret breaking my ties to the village itself, but sometimes I miss the friends I had. All I have left of Ryuuko is his headband. But I think if I had stayed, it would have been a mistake. Everything there would have reminded me of what I lost. I had to get out of there and start over. And now that Kaname is dead, I can start a new life."

Stepping out into the morning light, Aiko tilted her face up and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath, relishing the feel of the warm sun on her face.

She opened her eyes as she felt Hidan lay a hand on her shoulder.

"Come on, let's go back to the base. I'm going to have a hell of a time explaining to Kakuzu why we didn't bring back the bounty for Kaname," he said, arching one eyebrow.

This made her laugh, and she rested her hand over his. "Yeah, let's go back. I'm ready for a break."

"I don't know about that; we're sent on a fucking lot of missions. Maybe you'll get lucky, though. Pein might give you a break since you're new. Besides, we just finished a mission, even if it wasn't one he gave us. We _should_ get time to rest," he said.

Aiko smiled and shook her head. Hidan didn't seem to get along with anyone, except maybe the quiet Sasori. Though he didn't seem to have much of a problem with Zetsu. She couldn't help but wonder how hard it had been to convince him to join Akatsuki, unless he had joined of his own free will.

Taking his hand off her shoulder, Hidan sighed and headed off into the woods, Aiko close behind.

---

Some distance away, Kai leapt through the branches of the trees, heading back towards Kumogakure. Seeing Aiko again had been a relief, but also made him worry. She was a member of Akatsuki now, if the Raikage found out, she would be declared a missing-nin and hunted down. It was better to let everyone keep thinking she was dead.

He frowned as he came to rest on a branch. Something had changed about her, though he didn't know what. He could sense a kind of . . . chill around her, and her partner. That necklace that Kai had seen . . . what was it? It looked familiar, but he couldn't place it. He would have to look it up when he got back to the village. Until then, he would think of something to tell the Raikage about Kaname's death. Questions would be asked about how he knew; questions that couldn't be truthfully answered without giving away the truth about Aiko was well.

But what could he say? He didn't have any proof that Kaname was actually dead, only Aiko's word. But somehow, he knew it was the truth. Perhaps he shouldn't say anything, just to be safe. It had been almost three months since Kaname had killed Ryuuko and left the village; the search for him had been given up long ago.

His thoughts turned to Aiko's partner. He seemed capable of protecting her, as he had shown when Kai had Aiko pinned to the ground. Kai knew little about Akatsuki, only that the members were all S-ranked criminals from various villages. How Aiko had been accepted, he would never know. But if she was surrounded by them, she would be safe, right?

Kai's brow furrowed. Had he become so disloyal to his village? Letting an Akatsuki member go, even to save his best friend's sister. His eyes narrowed and he shook his head. No. He had promised Ryuuko that he would do whatever to took to protect her.

The best thing to do would be to pretend he had never seen Aiko or her partner. That way, he wouldn't accidentally let anything slip to the Raikage.

His mind made up, he resumed his journey back to the village, a slight smile on his face.

---

Aiko and Hidan had stopped at a small restaurant about an hour away from where they had stayed in the cave. The restaurant was small; hardly more than a shack, really, but it would do for getting some food.

They sat down on a bench outside after collecting their food. Both held steaming bowls of soup, and Aiko gazed into the dark liquid, lost in thought. She jumped slightly as Hidan elbowed her in the ribs.

"Ow, what was that for?" she groused, shaking her bangs out of her eyes and looking over at him.

Your damn food's going to get cold if you sit there just staring at it," he replied, casually taking a bite of his own soup, and ignoring the glare she was sending his way.

Aiko sighed and picked up her spoon. Though her stomach had been growling almost continuously since she had gotten her food, somehow, she just didn't feel hungry anymore. Kai's unexpected appearance had really ruffled her, though she couldn't quite figure out why.

Slowly, she took a bite of the soup. She vaguely noticed Hidan watching her out of the corner of his eye. The soup was better than she expected, and she continued to eat, if only to prevent another elbow to the ribs.

By the time she had finished eating, Hidan had leaned back on the bench, his arms behind his head, legs stretched out in front of him, crossed at the ankle. It took her a moment to realize that he wasn't actually asleep, he just had his eyes closed.

She couldn't help but smile a little. Despite his rough personality, she had grown very attached to him. A slight smile crossed her face and she leaned forward, kissing him gently on the cheek.

His eyes opened and he looked over at her with a look close to surprise on his face. "What the hell was that?" he asked, but despite his usual coarse language, his voice wasn't harsh, merely curious.

"For protecting me earlier," she told him.

He was silent for a moment, then stood up. "Come on. We have to get back."

Aiko smiled as she got up and began walking beside him. Was he embarrassed? No, that was impossible. Hidan didn't get embarrassed, no matter what she said or did.

She stretched and rolled her shoulders. "It's been an interesting few days, huh?"

"One thing I've learned: when you're in Akatsuki, your life is never fucking boring. Something is always happening." He glanced over at her, flashing a mischievous smile. "Which is good, because when we get bored, bad things tend to happen."

"I'll keep that in mind," she said, trying not to laugh. A group of bored Akatsuki members . . . That was something that sounded both intriguing and dangerous at the same time. "What exactly do you do when you're not on a mission?"

"We all do different things. Some of us rest, some train, and some, like that damn Kakuzu, never take a break," Hidan responded, his voice taking on a slightly annoyed tone.

Aiko looked up at the sky as they continued on towards the base. "You two sure don't seem to get along. Why did Pein make you partners if you're always fighting?"

"Kakuzu loses his temper easily, and when he does, he has a habit of killing those around him. He's had several partners before, but every fucking one was killed. Then I joined up. Turns out I'm the perfect partner, since I'm immortal," he explained.

"So that's why Pein said my being immortal was a good thing," she mused, half to herself. "You can't kill someone who's immortal."

"That's right. Kakuzu doesn't seem to understand that, though. He's always telling me that I'm going to get killed. He frowned, his brow furrowing.

That made Aiko wonder something. "_Is_ there anything that can kill you?"

"Just one. The only way you can die is if you stop making sacrifices."

She looked over at him. There was one more question she wanted to ask. "How . . . did you become immortal?"

Hidan was silent for a moment, and Aiko thought at first that he wasn't going to answer. But finally, he responded, "My village used to have ninja. It was small, but I didn't care. Shortly after I became a Jounin, it became a fucking tourist village. I wasn't satisfied with that. A few months before, I had read something about Jashin-sama. I liked the idea of being immortal, so one night, I killed a lot of the villagers as sacrifices to him. I became immortal, and then left the village. Just after that, Pein found me, and asked me to join Akatsuki. He told me that I could make as many sacrifices as I wanted once I was a member. I had the necklaces made, and perfected the ritual. So, I've been immortal for almost a year now."

Aiko was silent as he finished, thinking over what he had said. So Pein had bribed him. For some reason, that didn't surprise her. She recalled hearing about the slaughter in Yugakure, but she never heard who was responsible. It never occurred to her that Hidan was the one who did it.

Tucking a stray lock of hair behind one ear, she reached for the necklace she wore. "It's interesting that you have more than one of these."

"Fights can get rough as hell, so I like to have a few extras in case I lose mine."

She smiled slightly and tilted her head back as a warm breeze blew past them. "It'll be fall soon. I'm going to miss the warm weather."

Hidan cast her a sideways glance, taken aback by the sudden change in subject. "I don't give a damn one way or the other. Hot, cold, either one works for me."

"I should've been born in Sunagakure. It's always warm there." Her thoughts began to wander back to Kai. What was he doing now? Had he made it back to the village yet?

---

Kai _was_ back in the village. He was currently sitting in the library, surrounded by piles of books. The symbol he had seen around Aiko's neck, and her partner's . . . he had seen it before. Flipping through the books, he finally came across it. The symbol of Jashin. As he read the information, a frown began to grow on his face.

_Oh Aiko . . . What have you gotten yourself into?_

Closing the book, he stacked the others and replaced them on the shelves. Was she even capable of killing someone in cold blood? She had been an ANBU member, so her emotions were carefully controlled, but . . .

One other detail had caught his attention. Those who served Jashin gained immortality.

That explained a lot. Aiko had probably wanted to ensure that there was no way she could be killed before she got to Kaname.

Kai sighed heavily. She had changed so much. Her personality was still the same, but there was still something . . . different about her. That chill he had sensed must have been the immortality. But even with that fact, he had to make sure the Raikage never found out about her. It would be bad enough that she was alive and not part of the village, but for her to be a murderer on top of that . . .

_What should I do?_

---

Close to sunset, Aiko and Hidan came to the cliff where the base was.

Opening the door, they went inside. The first thing Aiko noticed was Kakuzu sitting in one of the chairs at the long table. He was leaning back with his arms crossed.

You're back early. Have you given up on finding him already?" he asked, watching them calmly.

"He's already dead. We killed him," Aiko responded, going over to the table and sitting down, leaning forward and propping her head up on one hand. Hidan followed and sat down beside her.

"Yet you've returned empty-handed."

"Everything was fucking destroyed. There wasn't anything left to use for a bounty," Hidan told him.

"Zetsu came by earlier. He said as soon as you've rested, Pein wants us to scout around, to see if we can find any information about the Jinchuuriki," Kakuzu said, watching them through half-closed eyes.

Aiko's head snapped up as she heard this. "You're looking for Tailed Beasts?"

"Yeah. Pein wants to seal them all," Hidan said, looking over at her.

She was silent for a moment. Kumogakure had a Jinchuuriki, though he didn't live in the village. He was the Raikage's brother.

"Sasori and Deidara have already left for Sunagakure. The One-Tail is there. Pein said it's time to make our move," Kakuzu explained, uncrossing his arms and straightening in his chair.

"Do Kisame and Itachi know about this?" Hidan asked.

"Yes. They're off on another mission right now, but once they get back, they're going to start scouting as well."

Aiko yawned and closed her eyes.

Hidan glanced over at her. "We'll finish talking tomorrow. We're both tired as hell." He stood up and touched Aiko's shoulder. She opened her eyes and pulled herself to her feet. They headed to the corridors, and she began to walked towards Orochimaru's old hall. A hand grabbed her wrist, making her stop and turn.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Come with me," he said, pulling her back towards his own hall.

She smiled slightly and nodded.

Following him to his room, she unbuttoned her cloak and folded it up. Putting it on the floor, she placed both of her swords on top of it. Her weapons were soon followed by Hidan's scythe, the attached cable, and the pikes. He let his cloak fall to the floor, but didn't bother folding it up.

He sat down on the bed, then stretched out and moved over to the side. Aiko followed and curled up beside him, resting her head against his chest. Inhaling his scent, she smiled sleepily as she felt him wrap one arm around her.

She was free to do as she wanted now. Ryuuko's death had been avenged, and Kaname was dead. Though she wasn't part of her village anymore, she had found a new life. There was nowhere else she wanted to be right now.

Her smile widened slightly as she snuggled closer again Hidan. She was home.

---

A/N: And with that, it's finished. I feel so accomplished! I'm sorry that this chapter is so short, I couldn't think of anything else to put in.

Also, about how Hidan gained his immortality, I have no clue if that's true or not, nor how long he's been immortal. It was never said in the manga, so I had to make something up. I hope it sounds plausible.


End file.
